In this noble prophetic passage, as charged with poetic grandeur as it is full of religious zeal, we have our thought directed to -
I. Two HEINOUS SINS WHICH BELONG TO EVERY AGE AND CLASS. They are these:
1. Disobedience. The divination to which reference is made (ver. 6) is expressly prohibited in the Law (Deuteronomy 18:10-12); alliance with strangers (ver. 6) is also forbidden (Exodus 34:12; Deuteronomy 7:2); the multiplication of silver and gold and of horses (ver. 7), however unobjectionable it may seem to us, was disallowed to the Hebrew nation (Deuteronomy 17:16, 17). The Jews would be under strong temptation to disregard these prohibitions; many of the lower ambitions of our nature would urge them to transgression. But the clear, unmistakable "Law of the Lord" pronounced against these things. And as every fact, both of a brighter and a darker kind, admonished them "to obey the voice of the Lord their God," they were "verily guilty" in their disobedience. God requires of men, of every age and land, that they should obey him. He will accept nothing of any kind as a substitute (1 Samuel 15:22; Matthew 7:21). Our ignorance of his purpose in commanding is no excuse for our disregard of his will. How can such little children as we are expect to fathom the wisdom of the Infinite Father? When we set our poor judgment against his perfect knowledge, our mistaken wishes against his holy will, we fall into the most serious sin. Our obedience is to be intelligent and not mechanical, cheerful and not grudging, instant and not tardy, or it will not be obedience at all.
2. Idolatry. This sin, so grievous in the sight of God, is found in one of three forms.
(1) In its most gross and degrading form, as in Judaea at this period (verB. 8, 9), when both the "mean and the great" prostrated themselves before the image made with hands; or
(2) in the less gross but still degrading form of superstition in "Christian" rites; or
(3) in that which constitutes its essence, viz. the giving to the creature the thought, the affection, the energy, which are due to the Creator. In this last form we are all under condemnation. We withhold from him whose we are and to whom we owe ourselves and all we have, the devotion and the tribute which we reserve for our neighbors or expend upon ourselves. This is essentially idolatrous.
II. DIVINE RETRIBUTION. Here are four features of it.
1. It begins in the withdrawal of Divine favor, "God forsakes his people" (ver. 6). He ceases to make the light of his countenance fall on them; their prosperity wanes, their joy diminishes, their power declines.
2. It may well be dreaded as certain to arrive in time. "Therefore thou wilt not forgive them" (ver. 9). God cannot and will not pardon the repentant, and those who are disobedient or idolatrous may count on the coming of his judgments as the most certain of all future things.
3. It is such that the boldest may well shrink from it. "Enter into the rock, and hide thee... for fear of the Lord," etc. (vers. 10, 19).
(1) When God makes the sins of a man's life to bring forth their natural and fitting fruits (intemperance, dissoluteness, dishonesty, etc., working themselves out in penury, disease, contempt, etc.);
(2) when God causes special enormities to be followed by extraordinary calamities; or
(3) when he makes the hardened sinner to confront death, judgment, and eternity; - then does he come as One who is in "the glory of his majesty, shaking terribly the earth;" then does he manifest his will and his power in such wise that the boldest and most fearless may well shrink and shudder at his appearing. However valiant sin may show itself while the righteous Lord delays to speak and strike, there is an hour coming when it will "call to the rocks to hide it, and to the hills to cover it," when it will tremble and cower at the touch of the hand of the Holy One.
4. It is that which nothing can escape.
(1) No man. "The day of the Lord... every one that is proud," etc. (ver. 12); not only the humble, but the haughty; not the defenseless only, but the strong and well fortified, even those who think themselves most secure, will feel the keen edge of the avenging sword (ver. 17).
(2) Nothing. The cedars of Lebanon and the oaks of Bashan, the mountains and the hills, the treasure-laden ships and the pleasant pictures and even the trusted idols, - all shall feel the blow of the mighty hand; nothing too high or too strong to be beyond its reach (vers. 13-18).
III. THE ISSUE. The end of Divine judgment is:
1. The humiliation of that which is false and evil. The idols which had been so honored are to be cast to the moles and to the bats (ver. 20). When God appears in judgment there is a great reversal and overthrow. That which was first becomes last; that which was highest in esteem becomes the object of derision and contempt.
2. The exaltation of the Lord himself. "The Lord alone shall be exalted," etc. (ver. 17). And, though we do not gain the thought from these verses, we may add:
3. The salvation of the penitent and the faithful. There is one Rock in which, if we seek its gracious shelter now, we shall then be able to hide, and in whose shadow we shall be safe;" for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." - C.
The mean man.
"Mean" there does not mean selfish or stingy, but the man between two extremes, the mean, average, ordinary man. The mean man and the great man are both bowing — what are they bowing to? Something beneath them; they have lost the sense of their dignity, and they have forgotten that they are kings, and now they are bowing down to things that they ought to control.
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People
Amoz,
Isaiah,
Jacob,
TarshishPlaces
Bashan,
Jerusalem,
Lebanon,
Tarshish,
ZionTopics
Abased, Acceptest, Bear, Bent, Bowed, Boweth, Canst, Cause, Common, Face, Forgive, Forgiveness, Goes, Humbled, Humbleth, Importance, Low, Lowereth, Mankind, Man's, Mean, Poor, SinOutline
1. Isaiah prophesies the coming of Christ's kingdom6. Wickedness is the cause of God's forsaking10. He exhorts to fear, because of the powerful effects of God's majestyDictionary of Bible Themes
Isaiah 2:9 8844 unforgiveness
Library
For Godly Sorrow Worketh Repentance to Salvation, not to be Repented Of; but the Sorrow of the World Worketh Death. 2 Corinthians 7:10.
In this chapter the apostle refers to another epistle which he had formerly written to the church at Corinth, on a certain subject, in which they were greatly to blame. He speaks here of the effect that it; had, in bringing them to true repentance. They sorrowed after a godly sort. This was the evidence that their repentance was genuine. "For behold this self-same thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, …
Charles G. Finney—Lectures to Professing ChristiansSirs, what must I do to be Saved? and they Said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Who of God is Made unto us Wisdom, and Righteousness, and Sanctification, and Redemption, Acts 26:30, 31, with 1 Corinthians 1:30.
There can be no objection to putting these texts together in this manner as only a clause in the first of them is omitted, which is not essential to the sense, and which is irrelevant to my present purpose. In the passage first quoted, the apostle tells the inquiring jailer, who wished to know what he must do to be saved, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." And in the other he adds the explanatory remark, telling what a Savior Jesus Christ is, "Who of God is made unto us wisdom, …
Charles G. Finney—Lectures to Professing Christians
A vision of the Latter-Day Glories
We shall not, to-day, look through all the dim vista of Zion's tribulations. We will leave the avenue of troubles and of trials through which the church has passed and is to pass, and we will come, by faith, to the last days; and may God help us while we indulge in a glorious vision of that which is to be ere long, when "the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it." The prophet saw two …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859
But to Know Whether Christianity Wants, or Admits of War...
But to know whether Christianity wants, or admits of war, Christianity is to be considered as in its right state. Now the true state of the world turned Christian, is thus described by the great gospel-prophet, who showed what a change it was to make in the fallen state of the world. "It shall come to pass," says he, "in the last days," that is, in the days of Christendom, "that the mountain of the Lord's house" (his Christian kingdom) "shall be established in the top of the mountains, and all nations …
William Law—An Humble, Affectionate, and Earnest Address to the Clergy
Sweet is the Solace of Thy Love,
"I, even I, am He that comforteth you." -- Isaiah 2:12 Sweet is the solace of Thy love, My Heavenly Friend, to me, While through the hidden way of faith I journey home with Thee, Learning by quiet thankfulness As a dear child to be. Though from the shadow of Thy peace My feet would often stray, Thy mercy follows all my steps, And will not turn away; Yea, thou wilt comfort me at last, As none beneath Thee may. Oft in a dark and lonely place, I hush my hastened breath, To hear the comfortable words …
Miss A. L. Waring—Hymns and Meditations
General Remarks on the History of Missions in this Age.
THE operations of Christianity are always radically the same, because they flow from its essential character, and its relations to human nature; yet it makes some difference whether it is received amongst nations to whom it was previously quite unknown, either plunged in barbarism or endowed with a certain degree of civilization, proceeding from some other form of religion, or whether it attaches itself to an already existing Christian tradition. In the latter case, it will indeed have to combat …
Augustus Neander—Light in the Dark Places
The Condition of the World when Our Lord Returns Proves that his Second Advent Cannot be Post-Millennial.
God's Word makes known the exact conditions which are to obtain here immediately preceding the Redeemer's Return. The Holy Spirit has given a number of graphic portrayals of the world as it will exist when our Lord comes back to it. One of these pictures is to be found in Isaiah 2--"For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return
A Clearing-Up Storm in the Realm
(Revelation, Chapters vi.-viii.) "God Almighty! King of nations! earth Thy footstool, heaven Thy throne! Thine the greatness, power, and glory, Thine the kingdom, Lord, alone! Life and death are in Thy keeping, and Thy will ordaineth all: From the armies of Thy heavens to an unseen insect's fall. "Reigning, guiding, all-commanding, ruling myriad worlds of light; Now exalting, now abasing, none can stay Thy hand of might! Working all things by Thy power, by the counsel of Thy will. Thou art God! …
by S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks on the Crowned Christ of Revelation
"And Truly Our Fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And These Things Write we unto You, that Your Joy May Be
1 John i. 3, 4.--"And truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full." It was sin that did first break off that fellowship that was between God and man, and cut off that blessed society in which the honour and happiness of man consisted. But that fundamental bond being loosed, it hath likewise untied all the links of society of men among themselves, and made such a general dispersion and dissipation of mankind, …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning
Place of Jesus in the History of the World.
The great event of the History of the world is the revolution by which the noblest portions of humanity have passed from the ancient religions, comprised under the vague name of Paganism, to a religion founded on the Divine Unity, the Trinity, and the Incarnation of the Son of God. It has taken nearly a thousand years to accomplish this conversion. The new religion had itself taken at least three hundred years in its formation. But the origin of the revolution in question with which we have to do …
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus
Completion Op the Fifth Continental Journey.
1849-50. The disorganized state of Germany presented a serious obstacle to John and Martha Yeardley's resuming their labors on the Continent. FROM JOHN YEARDLEY TO JOHN KITCHING. Scarborough, 6 mo. 23, 1849. We spent two days at Malton with our dear friends Ann and Esther Priestman, in their delightful new abode on the bank of the river: we were comforted in being at meeting with them on First-day. On Second-day we came to Scarborough, and soon procured two rooms near our own former residence. The …
John Yeardley—Memoir and Diary of John Yeardley, Minister of the Gospel
The Image and the Stone
'This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. 37. Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath He given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. 39. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
The Upbringing of Jewish Children
The tenderness of the bond which united Jewish parents to their children appears even in the multiplicity and pictorialness of the expressions by which the various stages of child-life are designated in the Hebrew. Besides such general words as "ben" and "bath"--"son" and "daughter"--we find no fewer than nine different terms, each depicting a fresh stage of life. The first of these simply designates the babe as the newly--"born"--the "jeled," or, in the feminine, "jaldah"--as in Exodus 2:3, 6, 8. …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life
Concerning Salutations and Recreations, &C.
Concerning Salutations and Recreations, &c. [1273] Seeing the chief end of all religion is to redeem men from the spirit and vain conversation of this world and to lead into inward communion with God, before whom if we fear always we are accounted happy; therefore all the vain customs and habits thereof, both in word and deed, are to be rejected and forsaken by those who come to this fear; such as taking off the hat to a man, the bowings and cringings of the body, and such other salutations of that …
Robert Barclay—Theses Theologicae and An Apology for the True Christian Divinity
The General Resurrection
Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. A n object, great in itself, and which we know to be so, will appear small to us, if we view it from a distance. The stars, for example, in our view, are but as little specks …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2
Sennacherib (705-681 B. C. )
The struggle of Sennacherib with Judaea and Egypt--Destruction of Babylon. Sennacherib either failed to inherit his father's good fortune, or lacked his ability.* He was not deficient in military genius, nor in the energy necessary to withstand the various enemies who rose against him at widely removed points of his frontier, but he had neither the adaptability of character nor the delicate tact required to manage successfully the heterogeneous elements combined under his sway. * The two principal …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 8
This Question I Should Briefly Solve, if I Should Say...
24. This question I should briefly solve, if I should say, because I should also justly say, that we must believe the Apostle. For he himself knew why in the Churches of the Gentiles it was not meet that a venal Gospel were carried about; not finding fault with his fellow-apostles, but distinguishing his own ministry; because they, without doubt by admonition of the Holy Ghost, had so distributed among them the provinces of evangelizing, that Paul and Barnabas should go unto the Gentiles, and they …
St. Augustine—Of the Work of Monks.
The Extent of Messiah's Spiritual Kingdom
The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever! T he Kingdom of our Lord in the heart, and in the world, is frequently compared to a building or house, of which He Himself is both the Foundation and the Architect (Isaiah 28:16 and 54:11, 12) . A building advances by degrees (I Corinthians 3:9; Ephesians 2:20-22) , and while it is in an unfinished state, a stranger cannot, by viewing its present appearance, form an accurate judgment …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2
The Prophet Micah.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. Micah signifies: "Who is like Jehovah;" and by this name, the prophet is consecrated to the incomparable God, just as Hosea was to the helping God, and Nahum to the comforting God. He prophesied, according to the inscription, under Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. We are not, however, entitled, on this account, to dissever his prophecies, and to assign particular discourses to the reign of each of these kings. On the contrary, the entire collection forms only one whole. At …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament
Things to be Meditated on as Thou Goest to the Church.
1. That thou art going to the court of the Lord, and to speak with the great God by prayer; and to hear his majesty speak unto thee by his word; and to receive his blessing on thy soul, and thy honest labour, in the six days past. 2. Say with thyself by the way--"As the hart brayeth for the rivers of water, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, even for the living God: When shall I come and appear before the presence of God? For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety
Subterraneous Places. Mines. Caves.
Thus having taken some notice of the superficies of the land, let us a little search into its bowels. You may divide the subterraneous country into three parts: the metal mines, the caves, and the places of burial. This land was eminently noted for metal mines, so that "its stones," in very many places, "were iron, and out of its hills was digged brass," Deuteronomy 8:9. From these gain accrued to the Jews: but to the Christians, not seldom slavery and misery; being frequently condemned hither by …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica
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