Annotations Upon Isaiah, Chapter 25
CHAP. XXV.
VERSE 1. O Lord, thou art my God, &c.] Some conceive this to be a Song of Praiſe, uttered as in the perſon of God's Church and people; yea of the Church of Believers in the New Teſtament, God's Elders or Ancients mentioned in the cloſe of the foregoing Chapter: But I ſee not why it may not be as well taken as the Prophets own Doxology. Being deeply affected, and even tranſported with the conſideration of thoſe wonderful works of God, foretold in the former Chapter, concerning the dreadful Judgments he would execute upon the wicked, both amongſt his own people, and all the Nations about them, in a manner all the world over; concerning his gracious preſervation of a remnant, which he would reſerve for himſelf; and eſpecially concerning the excellent diſcovery he would make of his tranſcendent Majeſty and Glory in the Kingdom of Chriſt (the laſt thing mentioned in the foregoing Chapter) here on a ſudden he leaves his Prophetical Diſcourſe, and breaks forth abruptly, as it were, into a Pſalm of Praiſe and Thankſgiving, as admiring the counſels and courſes of God therein: O Lord, thou art my God: as if he ſhould have ſaid, Whatever wicked men may do, my ſoul ſhall wholly cleave to thee; I will exalt thee, I will praiſe thy Name, ſee the Note, Pſal. 52.9. For thou haſt done wonderful things; he ſpeaks of the wonderful things which he had foretold ſhould be done, as if they had been done already; and ſee the Notes, Chap. 9.6. Thy counſels of old are faithfulneſs and truth; that is, that which thou didſt long ſince foretel, or thy Promiſes and Threatnings, wherein thou didſt reveal to thy people what from Eternity thou hadſt determined to do, thou haſt moſt truly and faithfully performed.
Ver. 2. For thou haſt made of a City, an heap; of a defenced City, a ruin, &c.] There is no juſt ground why this ſhould be reſtrained, as ſome would have it, either to Jeruſalem, or Samaria, or Babylon, or Rome, the ſeat of Antichriſt: It is rather meant generally of God's ruining the Cities, threatned in the foregoing Chapter, for which ſee the Note there, ver. 10. A palace of ſtrangers to be no City, it ſhall never be built; that is, Thou haſt utterly ruined the ſtately Royal Cities of the Heathens, the Seats of their great Kings, and that irrecoverably too; ſo that they ſhall never be built again, at leaſt not for many generations, ſee the Note, Pſal. 37.18. Nor in their former Splendor and Glory.
Ver. 3. Therefore ſhall the ſtrong people glorifie thee; the City of the terrible Nations ſhall fear thee.] The meaning is, that becauſe of theſe ruins, which God ſhould bring upon Kingdoms and Cities, either 1. the remaining and ſurviving remnant of thoſe ruined people ſhould be forced to acknowledg God's juſt hand upon them, and dread his mighty power. Or, 2. the neighbour Nations ſhould tremble and be afraid at the conſideration of the Glory and Majeſty of the great God of Heaven and Earth, that had done theſe great things; yea even the mightieſt and moſt terrible of them; as perceiving that no ſtrength of any people could ſecure them from his wrath; and that this ſhould tend much to the Praiſe and Glory of God. Or, 3. the fierce and mighty Nations, that had before carried themſelves moſt proudly and rebelliouſly againſt God, being humbled by theſe Judgments, ſhould be converted to the Faith of Chriſt; and ſo becoming God's people, ſhould praiſe God for his mercy to them, and that not with their lips only, but with their lives too, as being ſuch as ſhould unfeignedly fear and ſerve him.
Ver. 4. For thou haſt been a ſtrength to the poor, a ſtrength to the needy in his diſtreſs, &c.] This is mentioned as another of the wonderful works of God, for which the Prophet undertakes here to praiſe his Name; namely, that as he had deſtroyed thoſe mighty ones, ver. 2. ſo he had alſo protected and delivered his poor, weak, afflicted people, where by their low condition they were alſo made low in ſpirit, humbled, and ſo fit for mercy; and had been as a ſtrong Fortreſs to them, to ſecure them from their enemies. A refuge from the ſtorm, a ſhadow from the heat, when the blaſt of the terrible ones is as a ſtorm againſt the wall; to wit, that ſorely ſhatters or overturns the wall, or at leaſt beats with ſuch violence upon it, that it is likely to carry all before it. The deliverance of Jeruſalem from the ſiege of Sennacherib, and the Jews from their Captivity in Babylon, were remarkable accompliſhments of this Promiſe. But I ſee no reaſon why the place ſhould be reſtrained to either of theſe.
Ver. 5. Thou ſhalt bring down the noiſe of ſtrangers, &c.] That is, Thou ſhalt abate, or ſuppreſs and put an end to, the furious commotions and triumphings of the Heathens, the enemies of thy people: As the heat in a dry place; that is, as thou doſt many times abate and ſuppreſs the heat of the Sun in ſome dry deſert, where otherwiſe there would be no refreſhing for the poor Traveller, neither water to quench his thirſt, nor ſhadowy tree to be a ſhelter to him: Even the heat with the ſhadow of a cloud, That is, as thou doſt allay or ſuppreſs the ſcorching heat of the Sun, by the interpoſition of ſome thick Cloud, and ſomtimes by the cooling ſhowers that fall from thence; ſo ſhalt thou abate and cauſe to ceaſe the burning rage and heat of the enemies of thy people againſt them; ſee the Note, Exod. 13.21. The branch of the terrible ones ſhall be brought low. That is, their Poſterity alſo ſhall be ſo ruined and brought down, that they ſhall not be able to hurt God's people any more. This muſt needs be the meaning of this laſt clauſe, according to our Tranſlation. But indeed many of our beſt Interpreters hold, that it ſhould rather be rendred, The Song, or, the triumph of the terrible ones ſhall be brought low.
Ver. 6. And in this mountain, &c.] The Prophet having ended his Hymn of Thankſgiving in the foregoing verſes, wherein he had praiſed God for thoſe wonderful things which he had foretold ſhould be done by him, doth here return again to his Prophetical diſcourſe, and ſheweth what God would farther do in thoſe glorious times, whereof he had ſpoken, Chap. 24.13. And in this Mountain ſhall the Lord of Hoſts make unto all people a Feaſt of fat things; that is, Cattel and Fowl fatted, uſually eſteemed the daintieſt food; A Feaſt of Wines on the lees, that is, old and ſtrong Wines, not racked, but remaining ſtill upon the lees: This I conceive our Tranſlation muſt needs intend. And true it is, that the remaining of Wines upon the lees for ſome time doth feed and preſerve them, and makes them the ſtronger and the more odoriferous; whence is that, Jer. 48.11. Moab hath been at eaſe from his youth, and he hath ſetled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from veſſel to veſſel—Therefore his taſte remained in him, and his ſcent is not changed. Yet ſome I know underſtand hereby pure refined Wines, drawn off from the dregs and lees, and therefore not muddy, but clear; and ſo hold that the next words are added to explain theſe, Of fat things full of Marrow, of Wines on the lees well refined. But however all this muſt be underſtood Spiritually, to wit, that in the Church of Chriſt (that Mountain mentioned before, Chap. 24.13. whereof Zion was a Type, ſee the Notes, Chap. 2.2, 3.) God would feaſt his people of all Nations; not Jews only, but Gentiles too, 1. here in this life with the ſweet comforts of Chriſt, tendred them in the Goſpel and Goſpel-Ordinances, together with the Gifts and Graces of his Spirit, (for which ſee the Notes, Pſal. 22.26. and Prov. 9.2.) with reſpect whereto our Saviour himſelf doth in like manner compare the preaching of the Goſpel to a great Supper, Luk. 14.1…. and to a Feaſt made by a King at the Marriage of his Son, Mat. 22.2. …nd 2. in Heaven hereafter with the fulneſs of Happineſs and Joy, wherewith they ſhall be there ſatisfied unto all Eternity, which Apoc. 19.9. is called the Lambs Marriage-Feaſt, and the Table in the Kingdom of Heaven, Luke 2… 30. and Mat. 8.11. wherewith God ſhall for ever feaſt his people. See …e Notes, Pſal. 17.15. and 36.8. Some, I know, would have this underſt…od of God's deſtroying his and his peoples Enemies. But the Context ſhew plainly, that this cannot be here intended. And though we ſhould yield … that which others indeed more probably ſay, That the Prophet might have ſome reſpect in that which is ſaid here to the occaſion which God would give both the Jews and other Nations of exceeding great joy by their deliverance out of the Babylonian Captivity, (and that in expreſſing this, he compares God to ſome great King, making a Feaſt to his Nobles and Captains after ſome great Victory obtained by him.) Yet certainly this was only looked to as a Type of that greater Spiritual Feaſt, which is here principally intended; namely, the Celeſtial Joy which he would beſtow upon his people of all Nations in and through Chriſt, firſt by the glad tydings of the Goſpel, and afterward by the enjoyment of himſelf for ever in his Kingdom of Glory.
Ver. 7. And he well deſtroy in this mountain, &c.] Here the Prophet begins to recite the dainties they ſhould have in the Feaſt promiſed in the foregoing verſe; that is, the benefits that ſhould redound to them by Chriſt: And the firſt he mentions is, that in his Church he will utterly deſtroy the face of the covering caſt over all people, and the veil that is ſpread over all Nations; that is, he will free his people from that blindneſs and ignorance, that vail of darkneſs which lies naturally upon the minds of all mankind, ſo that they cannot find the way unto Life Eternal, and of which the Apoſtle ſpeaking, as with reſpect unto the Jews, ſaith, Which vail is done away in Chriſt, 2 Cor. 3.14. Some, I know, by this deſtroying the face of the covering caſt over all people, do underſtand Chriſt's deſtroying Death; and that in the expreſſion here uſed, there is an Alluſion to the Face-cloth, wherewith the faces of dead men are wont to be covered, Joh. 11.44. or to the cuſtom of covering the faces of condemned Malefactors, ſee the Note Eſth. 7.8. But this of Chriſt's deſtroying Death, is added in the next verſe; and the former therefore is rather here intended; namely, the freeing of his people from that ignorance under which they lay by Nature, by the enlightning of the Goſpel, which was ſignified by the rending of the Veil of the Temple at the Death of Chriſt. And all this is ſaid ſhould be done in this mountain, as before, not only becauſe it ſhould be done in the Church, made up both of Jews and Gentiles; but alſo becauſe the Goſpel, whereby this was to be done, was at firſt to go out of Mount Zion. See the Notes Chap. 2.3.
Ver. 8. He will ſwallow up death in victory, &c.] That is, He will deſtroy Death for ever, (as the word in the Original, here tranſlated in victory, doth properly ſignifie) ſo that it ſhall never more prevail over his redeemed ones; but Chriſt ſhall reign, this his laſt Enemy being deſtroyed for ever and ever. Now though this was done partly by the Death of Chriſt, whereby he aboliſhed Death, 2 Tim. 1.10. having by his ſuffering Death delivered his people …om that Death which their ſins had deſerved, Heb. 2.15. yet it ſhall chiefly b… accompliſhed at the Reſurrection of the juſt, when they ſhall paſs into Lif… Eternal, after which there ſhall be no more death, Rev. 21.4. for ſo the Apoſt… ſaith expreſly, 1 Cor. 15.54. When this corruptible ſhall put on incorruption, and th… mortal ſhall have put on immortality, then ſhall be brought to paſs that Saying …at is written, Death is ſwallowed up in victory: And the like may be ſaid of th… following words, And the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces, to wit, of his people; even as a tender Mother wipes away the tears of her weeping little Child: For though God doth this partly by the comforts of his Word and Spirit here, yet it is not completely done till they be taken up into Heaven; to which eſtate therefore this paſſage is applied by St. John, Revel. 7.17. and 21.4. And ſo likewiſe in the next clauſe, And the rebuke (or, reproach) of his people ſhall be taken away from off all the earth; the meaning is, that God would free his people from that extreme ſcorn and contempt which was caſt upon them all the world over; and from the worlds baſe and deſpightful uſage of them, in their continual afflicting and perſecuting of them, as if they were a people not worthy to live upon the face of the earth. But now the accompliſhment of this here principally intended, is the exceeding Glory whereunto God's people ſhall be advanced in Heaven. For when God ſhall take them into this bleſſed and glorious condition, then indeed all the Inhabitants of the earth ſhall be effectually taken off from that vile and baſe eſteem which they formerly had of them. Many good Expoſitors do, I know, apply all this to the deliverance of God's people out of Babylon. But it is only as looking upon that as a Type of this far greater deliverance, promiſed to God's redeemed ones in and through the Lord Chriſt.
Ver. 9. And it ſhall be ſaid in that day, &c.] That is, In that day when theſe Promiſes ſhall be accompliſhed, the people of God ſhall ſay, to wit, with wonder and exceeding great joy, (for this is, as it were, the language of the Gueſts at the Feaſt mentioned before, ver. 6.) Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him, and he will ſave us, &c. Which may be underſtood, 1. in the Type, of the rejoycing of God's people at the Lord's delivering them out of Babylon, which they had long expected, and came at laſt to paſs according to God's Promiſe and their earneſt expectation. And taking it thus, obſervable it is, that in this expreſſion of their preſent joy and confidence in God, they do withal covertly judg and condemn themſelves; becauſe before their being carried into Babylon by their diſobeying God's Laws, and ſeeking to foreign Princes for help in their dangers, they had not carried themſelves towards the Lord, as now they found they ſhould have done. Or, 2. of the people of God's owning Chriſt at his coming in the fleſh, and embracing him by Faith, when tendred to them in the Goſpel, as the true God, their Lord and Saviour, long ago promiſed them, with great joy, becauſe of the peace made by him between God and them. Or, 3. of the Churches triumphing in Chriſt, when he ſhall come to judge the world, and to receive them into his Kingdom of Glory.
Ver. 10. For in this Mountain ſhall the hand of the Lord reſt.] That is, His powerful Providence ſhall be conſtantly and continually over his Church to protect and bleſs them. See the Note; Pſal. 80.17. It is the ſame in effect with that of our Saviour, Mat. 28.20. And lo, I am with you alway, unto the end of the world.
And Moab ſhall be trodden down under him, &c.] That is, under his feet, Pſal. 110.1. Moab is here particularly mentioned, becauſe none were more conſtantly and more fiercely bent upon doing miſchief to God's people than they were; but under theſe by a Synecdoche all the wicked enemies of his people are intended. Even as ſtraw is trodden down for the dunghil, to wit, the worſt of the ſtraw, not fit to be reſerved for any other uſe. The word which we render trodden down, ſome tranſlate threſhed, and accordingly they read this verſe thus, And Moab ſhall be threſhed under him, even as ſtraw is threſhed in Madmenah; and then take Madmenah to be a City of Moab, called Madmen, Jer. 48.2. and hold, that becauſe this City being ſcituate in a rich Corn-country, where there was abundance of ſtraw, which was the leſs regarded, thence the Prophet uſeth this expreſſion here of ſtraw threſhed in Madmenah.
Ver. 11. And he ſhall ſpread forth his hands in the midſt of them, as he that ſwimmeth ſpreadeth forth his hands to ſwim, &c.] Some hold that this is ſpoken of Moab, with relation to the laſt words in the foregoing verſe, to wit, That as the Swimmer ſtretcheth forth his hands to ſwim, ſo he being trodden down by his enemies, ſhould in the midſt of them ſtretch forth his hands to beg for mercy both of God and his enemies: Or, that he ſhould, though in vain, ſtrive with all poſſible endeavours to ſave himſelf from utter ruin, even as a ſhip-wrack'd man being fallen into the Sea, laboureth with all his might by ſwimming to eſcape drowning. But clearly, as I conceive, this is ſpoken of God, That he ſhall ſpread forth his hands in the midſt of them, as he that ſwimmeth ſpreadeth forth his hands to ſwim: And the meaning of this Similitude ſeems to be, either that breaking in upon Moab he ſhould with all earneſtneſs, as with both hands, lay on upon them on every ſide, and that again and again, continually without intermiſſion, not only in the skirts of the Country, but even in the midſt and heart of the Land. Yea, not giving over till he had paſſed thorough it, and had every where executed his Judgments upon them, and ſubdued the whole Land under his power. Or elſe, that he ſhould eaſily and without any oppoſition work his will upon that great and mighty people, even as he that ſwimmeth doth only ſtretch himſelf upon the water, and ſpreading forth his arms doth gently put away the waters before him, and ſo cuts his way through the Sea or Rivers. And he ſhall bring down their pride, ſee the Note Chap. 16.6. together with the ſpoils of their hands. That is, their wealth, which by rapine and violence they had taken from others.
Ver. 12. And the fortreſs of the high fort of thy walls ſhall he bring down, &c.] That is, Moab's high and ſtrong walls, which they eſteemed ſuch a mighty defence.