19<\/strong>. The answer to prayer.<\/p>\n For the people shall dwell <\/em> ] Rather For, O people in Zion that dwellest in Jerusalem<\/strong>.<\/p>\n thou shalt weep no more gracious<\/em> ] weep thou shalt not, he will surely be gracious<\/strong>.<\/p>\n For the people shall dwell in Zion – <\/B>(see the note at Isa 1:8<\/span>). The language here is evidently adapted to a return from the captivity. The whole design of the passage Isa 30:19-26<\/span> is to describe a future state of prosperity by images mainly drawn from the idea of temporal enjoyment. The sense is, that in some period subsequent to the calamities that would befall them for their improper reliance on the aid of Egypt Isa 30:16-17<\/span>, there would be prosperity, peace, and joy in Jerusalem. The order of events, as seen by the prophet in vision, seems to be this. He sees the people threatened with an invasion by Sennacherib. He sees them forget their reliance on God and seek the aid of Egypt. He sees, as a consequence of this, a long series of calamities resulting in the downfall of the republic, the destruction of the city, and the captivity at Babylon. Yet he sees, in the distant prospect, prosperity, happiness, security, piety, the blessing of God, and rich and abundant future mercies resting on his people. That the blessings under the Messiah constitute a part of this series of mercies no one can doubt who attentively considers the language in Isa 30:25-26<\/span>.<\/P> Thou shalt weep no more – <\/B>(see the note at Isa 25:8<\/span>).<\/P> He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry – <\/B>When in your calamities you shall cry unto him for deliverance, he shall hear you, and restore you to your own land. This is in accordance with the statements in Isa 26:8-9<\/span> (see the notes at these verses), that in their captivity in Babylon they would seek God.<\/P> He will answer thee – <\/B>(see Jer 29:12-14<\/span>).<\/P> <\/p>\n Isa 30:19<\/span><\/p>\n He will be very gracious unto thee<\/em><\/p>\n Encouragements for faith<\/strong><\/p>\n Observe the kind of prayer which is here said to move the Divine pity and win the Divine favour.<\/p>\n It is designated a cry, i.e., <\/em>it is a very fervent, earnest, importunate prayer. It is a prayer that comes out of the depths of the heart. It expresses a very deep sense of need. It utters a very longing desire after God. There is very good reason why our prayers should very often tale this form. Our sins are such that they should work in us a penitence that may fitly take expression in a cry. Our spiritual needs are so urgent that we may give utterance to them in a cry. The strife is, sometimes at least, so hot, and the battle seems so going against us, that it may very reasonably be expected from us that we should cry unto God for His help. And God is such a necessity to these natures of ours, and God as a possession is so sufficing, that our desire for Him may well be intense enough to require this language to give expression to our prayer. <\/p>\n Encouragement to trust and pray<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>This is applicable and comfortable to all afflicted people. <\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>To those who are troubled on account of sin. <\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>To backsliders filled with their own ways, who are alarmed and distressed at their grievous departures from their God. <\/p>\n 4. <\/strong>To all believers in Christ who are at all exercised in heart. <\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>The plain promise of God. <\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>The gracious nature of God. <\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>The prevalence of prayer. He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry. <\/p>\n 4. <\/strong>Personal testimony as to the result of faith in God and supplication to <\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>Let us renounce all earthborn confidences. <\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>Refuse despair. <\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>Try the power of prayer and childlike confidence in God. (C. H.Spurgeon.<\/em>)<\/p>\n Verse 19<\/span>. For the people shall dwell in Zion<\/B><\/I> – “When a holy people shall dwell in Sion”] , Septuagint<\/I>; am kadosh<\/I>. The word kadosh<\/I>, lost out of the text, but happily supplied by the Septuagint<\/I>, clears up the sense, otherwise extremely obscure. When the rest of the cities of the land were taken by the king of Assyria, Zion was preserved, and all that were in it.<\/P> <\/P> Thou shalt weep no more<\/B><\/I> – “Thou shalt implore him with weeping”] The negative particle lo<\/I> is not acknowledged by the Septuagint.<\/I> It may perhaps have been written by mistake for lo, to him<\/I>, of which there are many examples.<\/P> <\/p>\n For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; <\/B>for although the time is coming, when the people shall be banished from Jerusalem, and carried captives into Babylon; yet after a set time they shall return to Jerusalem, and have a fixed and comfortable abode there: which was in part accomplished upon their return from Babylon; but more fully in the times of the gospel, when many of them were, and the whole body of them shall be, brought into Christs church, which is oft called Zion and Jerusalem, both in the Old and New Testament. <\/P> He will answer thee; <\/B>whereas now he seems to be deaf to thy prayers. <\/P> <\/p>\n 19.<\/B> (Isa65:9<\/span>). The restoration from Babylon only typifies the full<\/I>accomplishment of the prophecy (Isa30:18-33<\/span>). <\/P> weep no more<\/B> (Isa25:8<\/span>). <\/P> thy cry<\/B> (Isa 26:8<\/span>;Isa 26:9<\/span>; Jer 29:12-14<\/span>).<\/P><\/p>\n For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem<\/strong>,…. Or, “for the people of Zion z shall dwell in Jerusalem”; those that belonged to the fort of Zion should dwell in Jerusalem, or “abide” there, both they and the inhabitants of it, at least many of them should quietly continue there, waiting the Lord’s time to appear for them, and not run here and there, and particularly to Egypt for help or shelter. Seeing there are many things in the following verses which have respect to Gospel times, and best suit with them, this may be understood of the safe and comfortable dwelling of the children of Zion, or regenerate persons, in a Gospel church state, which is often called Jerusalem, both in the Old and New Testament:<\/p>\n thou shalt weep no more<\/strong>; or, “in weeping thou shall not weep” a; though they had been weeping because of the enemy’s invasion of their land, and besieging their city, yet now all tears should be wiped away from their eyes, being delivered from him; this may very well be accommodated to Gospel times:<\/p>\n he will be very gracious unto thee, at the voice of thy cry<\/strong>; these are the words of the prophet, declaring that the Lord would be gracious to his people at the voice of their prayer and supplication to him in their distress, as he was to the voice of Hezekiah’s cry and supplication to him:<\/p>\n when he shall hear it, he will answer thee<\/strong>; he always hears the prayers of his people, and he always answers them, sooner or later, in his own time, and in his own way; see Isa 65:24<\/span>.<\/p>\n z “polpulus Sion”, V. L. Gataker. a “plorando non plorabis”, Pagninus, Montanus.<\/p>\n None but such are heirs of the grace that follows the judgment – a people, newly pardoned in response to its cry for help, conducted by faithful teachers in the right way, and renouncing idolatry with disgust. “For a people continues dwelling in Zion, in Jerusalem; thou shalt not weep for ever: He will prove Himself gracious to thee at the sound of thy cry for help; as soon as He hears, He answers thee. And the Lord giveth you bread in penury, and water for your need; and thy teachers will not hide themselves any more, and thine eyes come to see thy teachers. And thine ears will hear words behind thee, saying, ‘This is the way, walk ye in it!’ whether ye turn to the right hand or to the left. And ye defile the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the clothing of thy molten images of gold; thou wilt scatter them like filthy thing: ‘Get out!’ thou sayest to it.”<\/em> We do not render Isa 30:19<\/span><\/em>, “For O people that dwelleth in Zion, in Jerusalem!” For although the personal pronoun may be omitted after Vav<\/em> in an apostrophizing connection (Pro 8:5<\/span>; Joe 2:23<\/span>), we should certainly expect to find here. The accent very properly marks these words as forming an independent clause. The apparent tautology in the expression, “in Zion, in Jerusalem,” is emphatic and explanatory. The fate of Zion-Jerusalem will not be the same as that of the imperial city (Isa 13:20<\/span>; Isa 25:2<\/span>); for it is the city of Jehovah, which, according to His promise, cannot become an eternally deserted ruin. After this promising declaration, the prophet turns and addresses the people of the future in the people of his own time; bakho <\/em> strengthens the verbal notion with the mark of duration; c hanon <\/em> with the mark of certainty and fulness. , with an advanced o <\/em>, as in Gen 43:29<\/span>, for . is the shortest expression used to denote simultaneous occurrence; answering and hearing would coincide ( shomah <\/em>, nomen actionis <\/em>, as in Isa 47:9<\/span>; Isa 55:2<\/span>; Ges. 45, 1 b<\/em>; anakh <\/em>, the pausal form here, as in Jer 23:37<\/span>). From this lowest stage of response to the penitential cry for help, the promise rises higher and higher. The next stage is that in which Jerusalem is brought into all the distress consequent upon a siege, as threatened by the prophet in Isa 29:3-4<\/span>; the besieged would not be allowed by God to die of starvation, but He would send them the necessary support. The same expression, but very little altered, viz., “to give to eat lechem lachatz umayim lachatz <\/em>,” signifies to put any one upon the low rations of a siege or of imprisonment, in 1Ki 22:27<\/span> and 2Ch 18:26<\/span>; but here it is a promise, with the threat kept in the background. and are connected with the absolute nouns and , not as adverbial, but as appositional definitions (like , “wine which is giddiness,” in Psa 60:5<\/span>; and , “water which is knees,” i.e., which has the measure of the knees, where birkayim <\/em> is also in apposition, and not the accusative of measurement): literally, bread which is necessity, and water which is affliction; that is to say, nourishment of which there is extreme need, the very opposite of bread and water in abundance. Umbreit and Drechsler understand this spiritually. But the promise rises as it goes on. There is already an advance, in the fact that the faithful and well-meaning teachers ( morm <\/em>) no longer keep themselves hidden because of the hard-heartedness and hatred of the people, as they have done ever since the time of Ahaz ( , a denom.: to withdraw into , , the utmost end, the most secret corner; though kanaph <\/em> in itself signifies to cover or conceal). Israel, when penitent, would once more be able to rejoice in the sight of those whom it longed to have back again. is a plural, according to the context (on the singular of the previous predicate, see Ges. 147). As the shepherds of the flock, they would follow the people with friendly words of admonition, whilst the people would have their ears open to receive their instruction. is here equivalent to , . The abominations of idolatry (which continued even in the first years of Hezekiah’s reign: Isa 31:7<\/span>; Mic 1:5<\/span>; Mic 5:11-13<\/span>; Mic 6:16<\/span>) would now be regarded as abominations, and put away. Even gold and silver, with which the images that were either carved or cast in inferior metal were overlaid, would be made unclean (see 2 Kings 28:8ff.); that is to say, no use would be made of them. Davah <\/em> is a shorter expression for k e l <\/em> davah <\/em>, the cloth worn by a woman at the monthly period. On zarah <\/em>, to dispense – to which davah <\/em> would be inappropriate if understood of the woman herself, as it is by Luzzatto – compare 2Ki 23:6<\/span>. With , the plural used in the general address passes over into the individualizing singular; is to be taken as a neuter pointing back to the plunder of idols.<\/p>\n 19. Surely the people in Zion shall dwell in Jerusalem. He confirms the former statement, that the people will indeed be afflicted, but will at length return to “Zion.” Now, this might be thought incredible after the desolation of the city and of the whole country, for it seemed as if the whole nation had perished; yet Isaiah promises that the Church shall be preserved. He begins with Mount “Zion,” on which the temple was built, and says that there men will henceforth call on the Lord. He likewise adds, “in Jerusalem,” by which he means that the Church shall be enlarged and increased, and that all that had formerly been laid waste shall be restored. Yet he intimates that “Jerusalem” shall again be populous, because God had chosen it to be his sanctuary. <\/p>\n Weeping thou shalt not weep. (299) The meaning is, that this mourning shall not be perpetual. The Church, that is, all believers, while they were in this wretched and distressed condition, must have been exceedingly sorrowful; but he says that those tears shall come to an end. To the same purport is it said by the Psalmist, “They who sow in tears shall reap in joy.” (Psa 126:5<\/span>.) The Lord permits us indeed to be afflicted with great anguish; but at length he cheers us, and gives us reason for gladness, when he restores his Church; for that is the true joy of believers. Besides, as it is difficult to taste any consolation when the mind is overwhelmed by a conviction of God’s vengeance, he holds out a ground of consolation in the mercy of God, because, when he is appeased, there is no reason to dread that joy and peace shall not immediately return. But, as the Prophet Habakkuk says in the passage already quoted, “in his wrath the Lord remembers mercy;” and he never punishes believers with such severity as not to restrain and moderate his strokes, and put a limit to his chastisements. (Hab 3:2<\/span>.) <\/p>\n At the voice of thy cry. The Prophet points out the manner of obtaining pardon, in order to arouse believers to pray earnestly, and to supplicate with earnest groanings; for if there be no repentance, if we do not ask pardon from God, we are altogether unworthy of his mercy. If, therefore, we wish that the Church should be gathered together, and rescued from destruction by a kind of resurrection, let us cry to God to listen to our sighs and groanings; and if there be no sorrow of heart that excites us to prayer, we have no right to expect any alleviation. <\/p>\n He will answer thee. This means nothing else than that he will give evidence of his kindness and aid; for the Lord “answers,” not by word, but by deed. Yet let us not think that he will instantly comply with our wishes, which are often hasty and unseasonable. He will undoubtedly assist us when the proper time arrives, so that we shall know that he had in view our salvation. <\/p>\n (299) Bogus footnote <\/p>\n GODS READINESS TO LISTEN TO THE NEEDY<\/p>\n Isa. 30:19<\/span>. He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry<\/em>.<\/p>\n I. There are persons before me for whom this gracious assurance is particularly suitable.<\/strong> It is most comforting<\/p>\n 1. To all afflicted people<\/em>. You are depressed; things have gone amiss; you do not prosper in business, or you are sickening in body, or a dear one lies at home pining away. In your straits possibly you may be ready to try some wrong way of helping yourself out of your difficulties. Yield not to Satan. There is help in God for you now. The Lord is not now visiting you in wrath; there is kindness in His severity. By yielding yourself to God, and trusting Him in this your evil plight, you will obtain deliverance (Isa. 30:15<\/span>).<\/p>\n 2. To those who are troubled on account of sin<\/em>. In order to escape from sin and punishment, the very first thing with you is to come back to your God whom you have offended, since He alone can pardon you. There must be a turning of the face in repentance, and a looking of the eye by faith unto God in Christ Jesus, or you will die in your sins (H. E. I., 14791484). The natural tendency of your heart, even when under a sense of sin, will be to keep from the Lord. Alas! you will look at your sin again and again till you are ready to pine away in despair, but you will not look to Christ Jesus and be saved. Possibly you may conclude that there is no hope for you in better things, and that therefore you had better enjoy such pleasures as may be found in sin, and take your swing while you may. Do not believe this lie of Satan. There is hope; you are in the land of mercy still. You need do nothing to make the Lord propitious, He is love already; you need not undergo penance, nor pass through grievous anguish of spirit in order to render God more merciful, for His grace aboundeth. Therefore we say to you, Go to Him and test Him, for He will be gracious to the voice of your cry.<\/p>\n 3. To backsliders filled with their own ways<\/em>, who are alarmed and distressed at their grievous departures from God. You may well be grieved, for you have done much dishonour to the name of God amongst the ungodly; you have pierced His saints with many sorrows. If you were cast off for ever as a traitor and left to die as a son of perdition, what could be said but that you were reaping the fruit of your own ways? Yet the text rings in your ears at this time like a clear silver bell, and its one note is grace. He will be very gracious unto thee (Jer. 3:14<\/span>; H. E. I., 424).<\/p>\n 4. To all believers in Christ who are at all exercised in heart<\/em>; and we are all in that condition at times. Even when by full assurance we can read our title clear to-day, we become anxious as to the morrow. If trials multiply, how will faith be able to stand? When the days of weakness arrive, what shall we do in our old age? Behind all stands the skeleton form of death. What shall we do in the swellings of Jordan? We recollect how we ran with the footmen in our former trials, and they wearied us, and we ask ourselves, How shall we contend with horsemen? When standing, as we shall, on the brink of eternity, will our religion then prove a reality, or will our hope dissolve like a dream? Such questions torment our souls. Let all such fears vanish. In child-like confidence come to God, and go no more from Him. Let this verse smile on you, and beckon you to your Fathers heart.<\/p>\n II. The assurance here given is very firmly based.<\/strong> It rests<\/p>\n 1. On the plain promise of God<\/em> as given in the text, and in many similar declarations scattered all over the Scriptures. <\/p>\n 2. On the gracious nature of God<\/em>. It is His nature to be gracious. Judgment is His strange work, but He delighteth in mercy. Nothing pleases Him more than to pass by transgression, iniquity, and sin when we lie humble and penitent before Him. <\/p>\n 3. On the prevalence of prayer<\/em>. This we know, an experience of eight-and-twenty years has proved that God heareth prayer; therefore we say to you, Go to Him and test Him, for He will be gracious to the voice of your cry.<\/p>\n III. The well-confirmed assurance of the text should be practically accepted at once.<\/strong> <\/p>\n 1. Let us renounce at once all earth-born confidences<\/em>. What is your confidence? Your wealth? Your strong common-sense? Your stalwart frame? What are you relying on? Will it support you in death? Will it stand you in good stead in eternity? It will not if it be anything short of the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Let us flee from all creature-confidence as from a filthy thing, for it is base to the last degree to be trusting in another creature and putting that creature into the place of its Creator. <\/p>\n 2. Refuse despair<\/em>. <\/p>\n 3. Try now the power of prayer and child-like confidence in God<\/em>.C. H. Spurgeon: Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit<\/em>, vol. xxiv. pp. 337348.<\/p>\n (19) Shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem.<\/strong>The two words are, of course, practically synonymous; but the prophet dwells with a patriots affection on both the names which were dear to him. The words admit of being taken as a vocative, Yea, O people that dwellest. 19-26<\/strong>. <\/strong> Having opened thus the ever-pleasing thought of the prophet namely, the divine forbearance the way is prepared now for comfort to the devout class of people in Jerusalem. <\/p>\n The people shall dwell in Zion <\/strong> He yearns for all to become devout, which, if they will, safety is a sure thing for the whole nation. The nation is between two fires Egypt and Assyria. Worldly court partisans waver as to policy between these. The religious party denounce every object of trust but Jehovah. The prophet is their uncompromising leader. He encourages in no faint terms. The nation is kept down by the powers on either side, but he claims it is not extinct, with Mount Zion in their midst. Jehovah is ready to reinstate the nation in its true glory. Weeping shall cease! Crying to Jehovah shall be heard as soon as uttered! The prophet uses soaring words. He addresses the future as well as the present. <\/p>\n Though <\/strong> This is not in the Hebrew, yet the complete sense requires it, else neither member of the sentence is intelligible. <\/p>\n Bread of adversity, and the water of affliction <\/strong> Expressions for doled out bread and water, as is customary in sieges because of their scarcity: but on condition of return to Jehovah, these shall pass away, and plenteousness take their place. <\/p>\n Shall not thy teachers be removed <\/strong> Their “teachers,” or true prophets, were also often removed, or obliged to hide themselves, in times when the idolatrous anti-reformers were in complete power, but this evil should also come to an end. <\/p>\n A word behind thee <\/strong> “Behind thee” may be a figure drawn from shepherd life, and seems to intimate that some of the flock, instead of strictly following the shepherd as is the Eastern custom, had gone in front, and were wandering aside of the true way, when the shepherd’s voice “behind them” is heard in warning. <\/p>\n Defile images <\/strong> The true people are seen by the prophet in the glorious times, putting away idolatry as a polluted abomination. Ahaz had not been slow in filling Jerusalem with it. The images thus worshipped are to be cast away with utter disgust, as is also expressed in the final words, <\/p>\n Get hence. Then shall he <\/strong> [Jehovah] give the rain of thy seed <\/strong> The rains needed to insure an ample harvest the first rains in autumn, after seed sowing, the latter in the spring. Earthly images of this sort are figures of grand spiritual blessings to the people of Israel. <\/p>\n Fat and plenteous <\/strong> Fatness, fertility, plenty for man and beast, and every thing contributing to these, yield, in the Old Testament, the richest descriptions for conceptions spiritual. <\/p>\n Light sun sevenfold <\/strong> The sevenfold increase of the light of heaven’s luminaries, and the concentrated light of seven days into one, represent the advanced spiritual state of the children of Jehovah.<\/p>\n For God’s Final Purpose is To Bless His True People Who Will Remain After His Chastisement and Purification, And To Defeat Their Enemies Himself ( Isa 30:19-33<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ).<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n While the future holds adversity for them, His final purpose is to bless those who are His true people. In the case of those who will hear His voice, He will be there to guide them. And once they have learned their lesson through their sufferings then they will enjoy great prosperity.<\/p>\n Analysis.<\/p>\n a<\/strong> O <\/strong> people who dwell in Zion at Jerusalem, you will weep no more. (Or, ‘the people who dwell in Zion will weep no more’). He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. When He will hear He will answer you (Isa 30:19<\/span>).<\/p>\n b <\/strong> And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet will not your Teacher be hidden any more, but your eyes will see your Teacher, and your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left (Isa 30:20-21<\/span>).<\/p>\n c <\/strong> And you will defile the overlaying of your graven images of silver, and the plating of your molten images of gold. You will cast them away as an unclean thing. You will say to each one, “Leave us” (Isa 30:22<\/span>).<\/p>\n d <\/strong> And he will give the rain of your seed, that you sow the ground with it<\/p>\n d <\/strong> And bread of the increase of the ground, and it will be fat and plentiful (Isa 30:23<\/span> a).<\/p>\n c <\/strong> In that day your cattle will feed in large pastures. Similarly the oxen and the young asses which till the ground, they will eat salted provender, which has been winnowed with the fork and with the fan (Isa 30:23-24<\/span>).<\/p>\n b <\/strong> And on every lofty mountain and on every high hill there will be rivers and streams of waters, in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall (Isa 30:25<\/span>).<\/p>\n a <\/strong> What is more the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that Yahweh binds up the hurt of his people, and heals the stroke of their wound (Isa 30:26<\/span>).<\/p>\n In ‘a’ the promise is that one day His people will weep no more because He will hear their cry and be gracious to them, and in the parallel all their benefits will be enhanced in the day when He acts to heal them. In ‘b’ although they must suffer adversity and affliction they can be sure that they will hear His voice leading and guiding them in the right way, and in the parallel there will be rivers of waters on the hills, even though there is great slaughter and the towers fall. In ‘c’ when they get rid of their idols and destroy them, in the parallel they will prosper and enjoy prosperity. In ‘d’ He will feed their sown seed with rain, and in the parallel this will result in abundance of provision.<\/p>\n Isa 30:19-21<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘O people who dwell in Zion at Jerusalem, you will weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. When he will hear he will answer you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet will not your Teacher be hidden any more, but your eyes will see your Teacher, and your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left.’<\/p>\n In typical fashion Isaiah now promises hope, because it is finally God’s purpose to bless those of His people whom He preserves. His words are addressed to those in Zion, at Jerusalem. It is true that they must first face the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, that is, that adversity and affliction will for a time be their staple diet in days to come, but there will come a day when weeping is no more. The present is bleak because of their sin, but the future is bright because of God’s sovereign mercy (but only for those who survive).<\/p>\n For when they do call on Him in genuine repentance and seek His face, when they ‘cry’ to Him, then He will hear and answer them. Then they will know Him as their Teacher, who will not be hidden from them any more (contrast Isa 29:11-12<\/span>). Their eyes will see Him and their ears will hear Him. And when they begin to stray the voice of their Teacher will speak to them, saying, “This is the way. Walk in it”.’<\/p>\n The picture is of a Guide, who when the caravan he is leading takes the wrong road because he has gone ahead to scout, calls after them, ‘this is the way, walk in it’.<\/p>\n ‘Your eyes will see your Teacher.’ Isaiah here probably means acknowledge and recognise, but it was to receive a greater fulfilment than Isaiah probably intended, when the Counsellor Himself walked and taught in Palestine and men saw Him with their own eyes, and they could say, ‘we beheld His glory’ (Joh 1:14<\/span>).<\/p>\n It may, however, be that he did here have ‘the Counsellor’ in mind (Isa 9:6<\/span>), and that the reference here is to the coming Immanuel, Who is later spoken of in this way (Isa 42:7<\/span>; Isa 49:2<\/span>; Isa 49:6<\/span>; Isa 50:4<\/span>; Isa 61:1-2<\/span>).<\/p>\n So God promises that one day there will be a Teacher in response to their prayers (whether God or Immanuel), a Teacher Who will care for them and be available to them and lead them in the right way (compare Isa 2:3<\/span>; Isa 28:6<\/span>; Isa 28:26<\/span>; Psa 25:8<\/span>; Psa 94:10<\/span>; Psa 94:12<\/span>). A Teacher whose concern for them will be such that He is ever watchful of their spiritual welfare, bringing to them His Law and guiding them by it (Isa 2:3<\/span>).<\/p>\n Note again the near and far view. Jerusalem would be delivered in the near future, and the deliverance would certainly have a spiritual impact, but the greater impact awaited another day when God would act in a more wonderful way to finalise His work, because their response of faith would be insufficient.<\/p>\n Isa 30:22<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘And you will defile the overlaying of your graven images of silver,<\/p>\n And the plating of your molten images of gold.<\/p>\n You will cast them away as an unclean thing.<\/p>\n You will say to each one, “Leave us”.’<\/p>\n One sign of their reformation will be that they will rid themselves of their idols made of wood, and covered with precious metals. They will first denude them of their silver and gold, and then throw them away, declaring their intention to be rid of them, and that they want no more of them, demanding that they go on their way and leave them.<\/p>\n It is noteworthy that the final result of exile and the suffering that they subsequently endured was that Israel did finally finish with idolatry. From then on it became anathema to them. So fulfilment was both near and far. Isaiah foresaw what would happen, but he was not aware of the timetable.<\/p>\n Isa 30:23-24<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘And he will give the rain of your seed,<\/p>\n That you sow the ground with it,<\/p>\n And bread of the increase of the ground,<\/p>\n And it will be fat and plentiful.<\/p>\n In that day your cattle will feed in large pastures.<\/p>\n Similarly the oxen and the young asses which till the ground,<\/p>\n They will eat salted provender,<\/p>\n Which has been winnowed with the fork and with the fan.’<\/p>\n Then instead of the bread of affliction and the water of adversity, they will enjoy rain from heaven enabling them to sow their seed with certainty, and sufficient harvest that they have plentiful soft bread. The cattle will enjoy pasturage in large fields, the oxen and the young asses will eat well-flavoured provender, which has been thoroughly sifted and fanned (contrast Isa 30:6-7<\/span>). The latter has in mind that when grain is short it is better not to remove too much of the chaff in order that the food may appear more plentiful, but now there is so much that it can be well sifted. The contrast demonstrates that the emphasis is not on the detail, but its significance. Instead of affliction will come freedom and joy; instead of adversity will come peace and blessing.<\/p>\nFuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
I. <\/strong>There is encouragement for faith in prayer to be found in THE NATURE OF GOD HIMSELF, as we cannot help conceiving of it. Goodness enters into His very nature. We find it necessary to believe that. It is too dreadful to believe the contrary. If I apprehend Him as perfectly good He must be pitiful, He must be tender in His pity; and if so, He is surely likely to be very gracious when He hears the voice of our cry. <\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>There is encouragement, too, in THE RELATIONS WHICH WE MUST CONCEIVE GOD AS SUSTAINING TO US. He is our Creator, and there is no reason at all in the suspicion that He who has made us is looking with indifferent eyes upon us or listening with indifference when the voice of our cry reaches His ear. He is our Father. He has communicated to us of His own nature, and so has become our Father as He is not the Father of other creatures that live on the face of this earth. But how does He fill up your idea of Father if, when you are in want, He does not heed? if, when you express your want of Him and of His help by a cry, He is not moved? <\/p>\n
III. <\/strong>THE INSTINCT OF PRAYER which we have offers encouragement to us that He will be moved when we call. We are in pain; some One is near who can relieve us, and we instinctively cry for relief at His hands. Your child is in imminent peril, and there is a man near who can rescue him; you instinctively call for the help of that man. And so we feel great wants which God only can supply. We are in great peril, from which God only can deliver us. There is something which instinctively moves us to appeal to God, to cry to Him. If God has put that instinct in our nature, He mast have intended to gratify it. There is no instinct of human nature for the gratification of which God has not in some way provided. <\/p>\n
IV. <\/strong>We have encouragement, too, in THE ANALOGY TO ALL HUMAN RESPONSE GIVEN TO GREAT NEED. It is not to children only that we give our compassion when they appeal to us in great distress; we are moved by the lower animals when in their great trouble they make an appeal to us. But you are not more pitiful than God. There is no love or pity in man that was not first in God. <\/p>\n
V. <\/strong>We have the highest encouragement to this faith in God in THE REVELATION OF HIM IN THE SCRIPTURES. It is a positive command of His that we should call upon Him when we need Him, that we should cry unto Him when we are in distress. His command means His purpose to hear; His command involves a promise in it. What do we find given in the revelation? Explicit promises without number, and in every form–proofs and illustrations and examples without number of Gods readiness to be very gracious unto those that cry unto Him. What do we see in the revelation of God in the Christian Scriptures? God showing what He is through a man. He went about in the form of a man. The sinning, and the needy, and the suffering came to Him, surrounded Him, tracked His steps, and cried to Him for His pithy and for His help. And was He not very gracious! When He was suffering, dying Himself, there came a cry from another who was in great distress, saying to Him, Remember me; and He was very gracious at the voice of that cry. But some are thinking that it is all true about the nature of God, but that they are guilty, and there are Gods law, and Gods government, and Gods justice, in the way of His nature expressing itself in His pitifulness to them in answer to their cry. Whatever hindrance they put in the way has been taken away by Christ. (D. Thomas, B. A.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I. <\/strong>THIS ASSURANCE IS PARTICULARLY SUITABLE TO CERTAIN CHARACTERS. <\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>THE ASSURANCE HERE GIVEN IS VERY FIRMLY BASED. The words of our text are no old wives fable, they are not such a pretty tale as mothers sometimes tell their children, a story made to please them, but not actually true. What is the ground of this assurance? <\/p>\n
III. <\/strong>THE ASSURANCE OF THE TEXT BEING SO WELL CONFIRMED SHOULD BE PRACTICALLY ACCEPTED AT ONCE. <\/p>\nFuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
<\/em><\/p>\nFuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n