Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes the straw, and as dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will decay and their blossoms will blow away like dust; for they have rejected the instruction of the LORD of Hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Sermons
These verses are obviously pictorial and figurative; they must be treated as highly hyperbolical or they will be misconceived. Though their primary reference is to the judgments which impended over the guilty nation, we may discover in them some principles which not only extend to every age, but apply to every individual soul. I. THAT THE INDIVIDUAL AS WELL AS THE NATION MAY BE THE OBJECT OF THE AWFUL ANGER OF ALMIGHTY GOD. "The anger of the Lord is kindled against his people" (ver. 25). Without attributing to the Divine Spirit the very same sentiment as that which fills our human minds, we may and should feel that the burning indignation of which we are conscious when we witness wrong-doing is the reflection of the "anger of the Lord" against all unrighteousness; and we do well to think that what we now feel in regard to others God may feel toward us, if, like his ancient people, we fall into disobedience and condemnation. Well may we, "who are his offspring," shrink from the high displeasure of the holy Father of souls. II. THAT GOD'S ANGER IS EXCITED BY OUR INATTENTION AND DISOBEDIENCE. "Because they have cast away the Law... and despised the Word of the Holy One of Israel" (ver. 24). The evil thing which God hates takes many forms, the later and darker ones being shocking even in the sight of good men. But they all spring from a disregard of his will as revealed in his Word. Despising the Word in the mind leads to a casting out of the Law from the rule of life, and thus shows itself in all kinds of iniquity. He who is neglecting the will of God, as that will is stated in his Word, is at the source of the stream of sin, and is in danger of being carried down to the rapids of destruction. III. THAT THE JUDGMENTS OF GOD ARE SOMETIMES SWIFT IN THEIR APPROACH. "They shall come with speed swiftly." Sometimes they are "leaden-footed but heavy-handed;" yet at other times they speedily overtake the transgressor. At all times, indeed, a violation of righteousness is instantly attended with some spiritual injury and. loss; but, beyond this, the more apparent punishment often comes with rapid march to confront and confound the transgressor. IV. THAT THESE DIVINE JUDGMENTS ARE SOMETIMES UNEXPECTEDLY PROLONGED. "For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still" (ver. 25). Men are apt to think, when they have suffered some great adversity, that God has poured out his anger, and that they may thenceforth expect continuous prosperity. But they overlook the two facts: (1) that at any time in each man's life there is a vast amount of unpaid penalty for which God may righteously punish him, and (2) that God is seeking a remedial as well as a punitive end in his inflictions, and that impenitence has always reason to fear - perhaps we should more properly say hope - that the hand of the Lord will still be stretched out in the attitude and act of correction. V. THAT THEY ARE IRRESISTIBLY STRONG. "Their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust," etc. (ver. 24; see vers. 27-30). God's judgments cannot be evaded; there is no escape from them by human strength or cunning: They move up with steady, unflinching step (ver. 27); they strike with unerring aim and piercing newer (vet 285; they reach the source as well as the sign of prosperity - root as well as blossom (ver. 24); they leave no way of escape open - seaward, heavenward, landward (ver. 30). "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.... Who may stand in his sight, when once he is angry?" Therefore: 1. Hearken diligently to his Word and hasten to obey, that the anger of the Lord be not kindled, but that his good pleasure may abide and abound unto you. 2. If any one of his judgments fall, turn unto him with unhesitating penitence, and his anger will be "turned away" (see Joel 2:12-14). - C. Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble. Let not those expect to live easily that live thus wickedly, for the righteous God wilt take vengeance. Observe — I. HOW COMPLETE this ruin will be, and how necessarily and unavoidably it will follow upon their sins. The prophet had compared this people to a vine (ver. 7), well fixed and which it was hoped would be flourishing and fruitful. But the grace of God towards it was received in vain, and then the root became rottenness, being dried up from beneath, and the blossom would of course blow off as dust, as a light and worthless thing (Job 18:16). Sin weakens the strength the root of a people, so that they are easily rooted up; it defaceth the beauty, the blossoms of a people, and takes away the hopes of fruit. Sinners make themselves as stubble and chaff, combustible matter, proper fuel to the fire of God's wrath. II. How Just the ruin will be. "Because they have cast away the law," etc. God doth not reject men for every transgression of His law and word, but when His word is despised and His law cast away, what can they expect but that God should utterly abandon them? III. WHENCE this ruin should come (ver. 25). It is destruction from the Almighty. 1. The justice of God appoints it. 2. The power of God effects it. "He hath stretched forth His hand against them. IV. The CONSEQUENCES AND CONTINUANCE of this ruin. When God comes forth in wrath against a people, "the hills tremble"; fear seizeth even their great men, that are strong and high; the earth shakes under men, and is ready to sink; and as this feels dreadful (what doth more so than an earthquake?) so what sight can be more frightful than the carcasses of men torn with dogs, or thrown "as dung" (margin) "in the midst of the streets"? This intimates that great multitudes should be slain, not only soldiers in the field of battle, but the inhabitants of their cities put to the sword in cold blood, and that the survivors should neither have hands nor hearts to bury them. V. The INSTRUMENTS that should be employed in bringing this ruin upon them. It. should be done by the incursions of a foreign enemy. When God designs the rum of a provoking people — 1. He can send a great way off for instruments to be employed in it. "From the end of the earth" (ver. 26). If God set up His standard, He can incline men's hearts to enlist themselves under it, though, perhaps, themselves know not why or wherefore. 2. He can make them come into the service with incredible expedition. "With speed swiftly" (ver. 26). Those that defy God's judgments will be ashamed of their insolence when it is too late; they scornfully said (ver. 19), "Let Him make speed, let Him hasten His work," and they shall find to their terror and confusion that so He will. 3. He can carry them on in the service with amazing forwardness and fury (vers. 27-30).(1) Though their marches be very long, yet "none among them shall be weary"; so desirous shall they be to engage that they shall forget their weariness and make no complaints of it.(2) Though the way be rough, and, perhaps embarrassed by the usual policies of war, yet none among them shall stumble, but all the difficulties in their way shall easily be got over.(3) Though they are forced to keep constant watch, yet "none shall slumber or sleep"; so intent shall they be upon their work in prospect of having the plunder of the city for their pains.(4) They shall not desire any rest or relaxation; they shall not put off their clothes, not "loose the girdle of their loins," but shall always have their belts on and swords by their sides.(5) They shall not meet with the least hindrance to retard their march, or oblige them to halt; not a "latchet of their shoes shall be broken," which they must stay to mend, as Joshua 9:13.(6) Their arms and ammunition should all be fixed and in good posture (ver. 28).(7) Their horses and chariots of war shall all be fit for service (ver. 28).(8) All the soldiers bold and daring; "their roaring," or shouting before a battle, "shall be like a lion," who with his roaring animates himself and terrifies all about him.(9) There shall not be the least prospect of relief or succour. Let the distressed look which way they will, everything appears dismal; for if God frown upon us how can any creature smile? () They cannot be resisted, their direction cannot be altered, their force abated, nor can the flame be extinguished by human efforts. As threatened calamities cannot be averted, so inflicted judgments cannot be removed, unless by true repentance and earnest supplication to the supreme Disposer of all events. () () The judgment here foretold was to prove universal; for what remains of a tree when its roots and branches are destroyed!() Sin doth as naturally draw and suck judgments to it as the loadstone doth iron, as dry stubble and light chaff doth fire.() The "law" of Jehovah was given by Moses and embodied in institutions and a code; the "word" was that exposition of the meaning and life of these which the prophets were, from time to time, declaring in the ears of the people. The nation had cast away this law and despised this word.() When all heart and morality are gone from a nation, its roots below ground are rotten, and its flourishing appearance is ready to turn to dust. There is no substance in such a people, nothing which can stand calamity of any kind. It will sweep them away as the fire licks up the stubble which men burn when the crop of corn or hay has been gathered in.() The sin of unfruitfulness is punished with the plague of unfruitfulness.()
People Ephah, IsaiahPlaces Jerusalem, Mount ZionTopics Almighty, Armies, Blossom, Blow, Burned, Cast, Cause, Chaff, Collapses, Consumed, Consumes, Consumeth, Contemned, Decay, Despised, Devoureth, Devours, Dry, Dust, Falleth, Fire, Flame, Flames, Flaming, Flower, Flowers, Goes, Grain, Grass, Hay, Holy, Honour, Hosts, Law, Lick, Muck, Rejected, Root, Roots, Rot, Rottenness, Saying, Sinketh, Sinks, Spurned, Stems, Straw, Stubble, Tongue, Tongues, WasteOutline 1. Under the parable of a vineyard, God excuses his severe judgment
8. His judgments upon covetousness
11. Upon lasciviousness
13. Upon impiety
20. And upon injustice
26. The executioners of God's judgments
Dictionary of Bible Themes Isaiah 5:24 1690 word of God
4460 grass
4516 straw
5193 tongue
5800 blasphemy
6142 decay
6231 rejection of God Isaiah 5:18-25 4446 flowers Isaiah 5:22-24 4504 roots Isaiah 5:24-25 5790 anger, divine Library A Prophet's Woes
'Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may he placed alone in the midst of the earth! 9. In mine ears said the Lord of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall he desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant. 10. Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah. 11. Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureHoly Song from Happy Saints
"Now will I sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved."--Isaiah 5:1. IT was a prophet who wrote this, a prophet inspired of God. An ordinary believer might suffice to sing, but he counts it no stoop for a prophet, and no waste of his important time, to occupy himself with song. There is no engagement under heaven that is more exalting than praising God, and however great may be the work which is committed to the charge of any of us, we shall always do well if we pause awhile to spend a time in …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 61: 1915 The Well-Beloved's vineyard.
AN ADDRESS TO A LITTLE COMPANY OF BELIEVERS, IN MR. SPURGEON'S OWN ROOM AT MENTONE."My Well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill."--Isaiah v. 1. THE WELL-BELOVED'S VINEYARD. WE recognize at once that Jesus is here. Who but He can be meant by "My Well-beloved"? Here is a word of possession and a word of affection,--He is mine, and my Well-beloved. He is loveliness itself, the most loving and lovable of beings; and we personally love Him with all our heart, and mind, and soul, and strength: …
Charles Hadden Spurgeon—Till He Come Of Confession and Self-Examination
Of Confession and Self-examination Self-examination should always precede Confession, and in the nature and manner of it should be conformable to the state of the soul: the business of those that are advanced to the degree of which we now treat, is to lay their whole souls open before God, who will not fail to enlighten them, and enable them to see the peculiar nature of their faults. This examination, however, should be peaceful and tranquil, and we should depend on God for the discovery and knowledge …
Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of Prayer God's Last Arrow
'Having yet therefore one son, his well-beloved, he sent him also last unto them.'--Mark xii. 6. Reference to Isaiah v. There are differences in detail here which need not trouble us. Isaiah's parable is a review of the theocratic history of Israel, and clearly the messengers are the prophets; here Christ speaks of Himself and His own mission to Israel, and goes on to tell of His death as already accomplished. I. The Son who follows and surpasses the servants. (a) Our Lord here places Himself in …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Dishonest Tenants
'And He began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. 2. And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. 3. And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty. 4. And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Miracles no Remedy for Unbelief.
"And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke Me? and how long will it be ere they believe Me, for all the signs which I have showed among them?"--Numbers xiv. 11. Nothing, I suppose, is more surprising to us at first reading, than the history of God's chosen people; nay, on second and third reading, and on every reading, till we learn to view it as God views it. It seems strange, indeed, to most persons, that the Israelites should have acted as they did, age after age, in …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII The Knowledge that God Is, Combined with the Knowledge that He is to be Worshipped.
John iv. 24.--"God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." There are two common notions engraven on the hearts of all men by nature,--that God is, and that he must be worshipped, and these two live and die together, they are clear, or blotted together. According as the apprehension of God is clear, and distinct, and more deeply engraven on the soul, so is this notion of man's duty of worshipping God clear and imprinted on the soul, and whenever the actions …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning The Barren Fig-Tree.
"There were present at that season some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except …
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord A Sermon on a Text not Found in the Bible.
MR. JUSTICE GROVES.--"Men go into the Public-house respectable, and come out felons." My text, as you see, my dear readers, is not taken from the Bible. It does not, however, contradict the Scriptures, but is in harmony with some, such as "WOE UNTO HIM THAT GIVETH HIS NEIGHBOUR DRINK." Habakkuk ii. 15; "WOE UNTO THEM THAT RISE UP EARLY IN THE MORNING, THAT THEY MAY FOLLOW STRONG DRINK."--Isaiah v. 11. "TAKE HEED TO YOURSELVES LEST AT ANY TIME YOUR HEARTS BE OVERCHARGED WITH SURFEITING AND …
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread Religion Pleasant to the Religious.
"O taste and see how gracious the Lord is; blessed is the man that trusteth in Him."--Psalm xxxiv. 8. You see by these words what love Almighty God has towards us, and what claims He has upon our love. He is the Most High, and All-Holy. He inhabiteth eternity: we are but worms compared with Him. He would not be less happy though He had never created us; He would not be less happy though we were all blotted out again from creation. But He is the God of love; He brought us all into existence, …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII "For to be Carnally Minded is Death; but to be Spiritually Minded is Life and Peace. "
Rom. viii. 6.--"For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." It is true, this time is short, and so short that scarce can similitudes or comparisons be had to shadow it out unto us. It is a dream, a moment, a vapour, a flood, a flower, and whatsoever can be more fading or perishing; and therefore it is not in itself very considerable, yet in another respect it is of all things the most precious, and worthy of the deepest attention and most serious consideration; …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning a survey of the third and closing discourse of the prophet
We shall now, in conclusion, give a survey of the third and closing discourse of the prophet. After an introduction in vi. 1, 2, where the mountains serve only to give greater solemnity to the scene (in the fundamental passages Deut. xxxii. 1, and in Is. 1, 2, "heaven and earth" are mentioned for the same purposes, inasmuch as they are the most venerable parts of creation; "contend with the mountains" by taking them in and applying to [Pg 522] them as hearers), the prophet reminds the people of …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Eleventh Day. The Holy one of Israel.
I am the Lord that brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God; ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. I the Lord which make you holy, am holy.'--Lev. xi. 45, xxi. 8. 'I am the Lord Thy God, the Holy One of Israel, Thy Saviour. Thus saith the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.'--Isa. xliii. 3, 14, 15. In the book of Exodus we found God making provision for the Holiness of His people. In the holy …
Andrew Murray—Holy in Christ The Harbinger
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD , make straight in the desert a high-way for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. T he general style of the prophecies is poetical. The inimitable simplicity which characterizes every …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 Letter Xlviii to Magister Walter De Chaumont.
To Magister [75] Walter de Chaumont. He exhorts him to flee from the world, advising him to prefer the cause and the interests of his soul to those of parents. MY DEAR WALTER, I often grieve my heart about you whenever the most pleasant remembrance of you comes back to me, seeing how you consume in vain occupations the flower of your youth, the sharpness of your intellect, the store of your learning and skill, and also, what is more excellent in a Christian than all of these gifts, the pure and innocent …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux In Reply to the Questions as to his Authority, Jesus Gives the Third Great Group of Parables.
(in the Court of the Temple. Tuesday, April 4, a.d. 30.) Subdivision C. Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen. ^A Matt. XXI. 33-46; ^B Mark XII. 1-12; ^C Luke XX. 9-19. ^b 1 And he began to speak unto them ^c the people [not the rulers] ^b in parables. { ^c this parable:} ^a 33 Hear another parable: There was a man that was a householder [this party represents God], who planted a vineyard [this represents the Hebrew nationality], and set a hedge about it, and digged a ^b pit for the ^a winepress in it …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel The Third Day in Pasion-Week - the Last Series of Parables: to the Pharisees and to the People - on the Way to Jerusalem: the Parable
(ST. Matt. xix. 30, xx. 16; St. Matt. xxi. 28-32; St. Mark xii. 1-12; St. Luke xx. 9-19; St. Matt. xxii. 1-14.) ALTHOUGH it may not be possible to mark their exact succession, it will be convenient here to group together the last series of Parables. Most, if not all of them, were spoken on that third day in Passion week: the first four to a more general audience; the last three (to be treated in another chapter) to the disciples, when, on the evening of that third day, on the Mount of Olives, [5286] …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Of Orders.
Of this sacrament the Church of Christ knows nothing; it was invented by the church of the Pope. It not only has no promise of grace, anywhere declared, but not a word is said about it in the whole of the New Testament. Now it is ridiculous to set up as a sacrament of God that which can nowhere be proved to have been instituted by God. Not that I consider that a rite practised for so many ages is to be condemned; but I would not have human inventions established in sacred things, nor should it be …
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, too little to be among the thousands of Judah
"And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, too little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall come forth unto Me (one) [Pg 480] to be Ruler in Israel; and His goings forth are the times of old, the days of eternity." The close connection of this verse with what immediately precedes (Caspari is wrong in considering iv. 9-14 as an episode) is evident, not only from the [Hebrew: v] copulative, and from the analogy of the near relation of the announcement of salvation to the prophecy of disaster …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament An Analysis of Augustin's Writings against the Donatists.
The object of this chapter is to present a rudimentary outline and summary of all that Augustin penned or spoke against those traditional North African Christians whom he was pleased to regard as schismatics. It will be arranged, so far as may be, in chronological order, following the dates suggested by the Benedictine edition. The necessary brevity precludes anything but a very meagre treatment of so considerable a theme. The writer takes no responsibility for the ecclesiological tenets of the …
St. Augustine—writings in connection with the donatist controversy. The Gateway into the Kingdom.
"Except a man be born again he cannot enter the kingdom of God." (John iii. 3.) There is no portion of the Word of God, perhaps, with which we are more familiar than this passage. I suppose if I were to ask those in any audience if they believed that Jesus Christ taught the doctrine of the New Birth, nine tenths of them would say: "Yes, I believe He did." Now if the words of this text are true they embody one of the most solemn questions that can come before us. We can afford to be deceived about …
Dwight L. Moody—The Way to God and How to Find It Links Isaiah 5:24 NIV
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