Commentary on the Old Testament Volume 2-4, Biblical commentary 7 · Isaiah · Chapter 55
CHAP. LV.
OH every one that thirsteth, come to the waters, and he that hath no money, let Vers. 1.him come, and buy and eat. Having concluded the former Chapter with these words, Thy righteousnesse is of me, saith the Lord. Now he sheweth how it may be attained, viz. the Spirit, which being received into the heart worketh all grace, which giveth a sure setling in peace, viz. if we thirst after it. For it is common with the Lord to set forth himself and his Spirit by waters, as before Chap. 32. 15, 16. Joh. 7. 37, &c. But to intimate the dulnesse and backwardnesse of men to thirst after this drink, though ready to perish for want thereof, he saith, He, he that thirsteth, after the manner of one making Proclamation, or of a Crier that crieth aloud (O yes!) But what meaneth he after calling to the waters the thirsty, to bid them buy and eat, he should rather one would think bid them buy and drink? Sol. Although waters only be first named, which are to be drunk, yet milk is also immediatly spoken of, and bread ver. 2. which are to be eaten, and hereunto he hath relation when he biddeth eat. The speech is concise, being as if he had said, Let every one that is thirsty come to the waters and drink; Let the hungry come and buy milk and bread and eat; Wine is also named, because this water is as much chearing the heart as wine. And the Spirit is thus variously set forth, to shew the full satisfaction that is to be had herein by those that receive it, for wouldst thou being dry drink water to moisten and cool thee? the Spirit is living water. Wouldst thou drink wine to put away the heavinesse of thy spirit, and to cheer thy heart? the Spirit is wine. Wouldst thou being young and tender have milk to nourish thee? the Spirit is milk. Wouldst thou have bread or other strong meat to strengthen thee? the Spirit is bread, and the only bread. For which he saith vers. 2. Why do ye spend your money for that which is not bread? And by bread in Scripture all food is commonly set forth. But what meaneth he to bid us buy, and yet without money? Sol. By buying here is nothing else meant, but getting, and because this is the common way of getting food, he saith Buy, as also Revel. 3. 18. It is no more then but as if he had said, Get ye wine and milk; to explain which further he saith, Without money or price, therefore not properly called a buying; so also Musculus; It is a getting of Muscul.this spiritual food, as a poor man that is hungry and thirsty getteth an alms by begging; so we must get the Spirit by thirsting first, and finding the great need that we have; yea that our need is so great, that if God extend not this charity to us, we must needs perish; and secondly begging most earnestly at the throne of grace for the Spirit, and then we shall be sure to have it given us, as the Lord saith Luk. 11. God will give his Spirit to those that ask him. And Note. of our so great poverty we must be perswaded by hearing it laid open in the preaching of the Word, and also hunger and thirst, and beg thus, as therein we are moved to do, least any should say we neither do nor can finde, that our danger is so great of perishing for want, but are rich and want no grace Revel. 3.that is sufficient for us; or if we do, we are of our selves blinde, and so cannot see or know it, much lesse thirst and beg so earnestly for it. And to move to get this food, he speaks as if all food else without this were nought worth; Why do ye spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which satisfieth not? By labour men get money, and with money they buy bread for the body, yet the body thus carefully provided for, must to the dust and to rottennesse, and whilest nothing is gotten for the soul, that it may live for ever, all that food whereby the body is fed with so much pleasure is in fine nothing beneficial. Eat that which is good, and let your soul delight in fatnesse. Corporeal things, as daintiest food, and apparel, and riches, are not good, but vertue and grace only, and these worldly things are good to the good, evil to the evil. Then doth a man eat of the fat and best, when he receives the Spirit of God bringing joy which passeth understanding: so that poverty or impotency, or any other bodily misery is not evil in it self, by the reason of contraries, but to the wicked; to this effect Jerom.
Incline your ear and hear, come to me and your soul shall live. Here the Lord doth further inculcate the same, which he before exhorted to in other words, Vers. 3.somewhat enlarging himself, and shewing how we should come, as he had moved vers. 1. viz. Encline your ear to hear, and to whom, Come to me, and to what end, And your soul shall live; whereby is intimated, that to the end we may hunger and thirst after righteousnesse, we must be forward and diligent in hearing the Word of God, a thirst after this is a beginning of the thirst after the spirit. But we must hear to come to God who cals us to him in his Word, which is when we believe and obey him in all things, And thy soul shall live, in which words he sheweth to what end the food before spoken of, is to be thirsted after, viz. that soul might be fed and live for ever. And I will make an everlasting Covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Hereby he meaneth the Covenant of the New Testament confirmed by Christs bloud, which is not temporany as that of the old made by the bloud of beasts, but everlasting. And what this Covenant is the Psalmist sheweth, saying, I have made a Covenant with David, and sworn, Thy seed will I establish for ever, Psal. 89. 3, 4. vers. 38, 29, 34, 35. by which feed he meaneth Christ, who is also called David, that should be sent to feed his people, but herein is the difference, this David died, he liveth for ever, he fed them by ruling them aright for a time, Christ the second David with his own flesh and bloud, and by ruling them righteously for ever. After the death of that David they suffered many miseries, and were long left to the will of their enemies for their sins, and were finally brought to desolation, but this David dying rose again and reigneth in all the world so, as that his faithfull people shall alwayes be preserved, and continue as a Fort impregnable here, and everlastingly in heaven hereafter; and that not for their merits, but for his mercies, for which he calleth this Covenant, The sure mercies of David. But this Covenant, as Calvin noteth, is all one in effect with the old, for thereby God bound himself to Abraham and his seed for ever, but being broken by his seed according to the flesh, he as need required renued it with his seed according to the spirit both of Jews and Gentiles to continue for ever and ever.
I have given him a witnesse to the people, a leader, &c. That is, the foresaid David, Christ Jesus, and he is said to be given as a witnesse of the Covenant Vers. 4.mentioned vers 3. because as witnesses serve to confirm; so by him was this Covenant made by God with his people abundantly confirmed, and accordingly he telleth Pilate, For this cause came I into the world, that I might testifie the truth. And to Nicodemus, We say what we know, and testifie what we have seen; and Revel. 1. 5. he is called The faithfull witnesse; so Musculus, and A Musculus. Joh. 18. 37. Joh. 3. 11.commander to peoples. The same Christ who was said Chap. 53. to have been as a sheep before the shearer, is here said to be a Leader and commander, as Lord and King. And over what peoples he should be thus advanced is shewed vers. 5. Thou shalt call the Nations whom thou hast not known, and the Nations which Vers. 5.knew not thee shall run unto thee. That is, the Gentiles called by the preaching of the Gospel, for they knew not God in former times, and God passing by them as if he knew them not, tendred the Israelites, and taught and delivered them, and put them into a most fruitfull possession. For such as God neglecteth and puts away, he is said not to know, Mat. 7. 21, 22. See the like speech uttered by David in the person of Christ, Psal. 18. 43. it being hereby further confirmed, That David spake there of Christ, as I have also shewed upon that place. And here the misery of the unconverted or uncalled is shewed; till Note. they come to Christ, they neither know God, nor are known of him, nor regarded whatsoever evils befall them, no, though they call and cry unto him, as is shewed in the same Matth. 7. 21. and Psal. 18. 41. But when Christs voice calling them is heard by their hearts being opened, as was the heart of Lydia, they do not come but runne unto him, as in the next words. Wherefore if any Note. think they will come by turning from sinne, but they need not make any such haste, Christ hath not yet spoken to their hearts, though he hath to their ears, they have no dramme of grace in them, but continue such as he will not know at the last day. All that hear with their hearts runne unto him; neither can the pleasures of Sodom make them delay one moment longer, because they now know and see so much glory and happinesse in Christ, that all the profits, pleasures and glory of the world are nothing to it, as is shewed in the next words, For the Lord thy God, the holy One of Israel, who hath glorified thee. The faithfull do see so great glory in Christ, through whom they are united unto the Father, when they come unto him, as that this is a spurre to make them runne to him without any delay. Now God made him glorious in his Birth by his Angels, in his Baptism by his speaking of him from Heaven, as his beloved Sonne in his Transfiguration, in his Resurrection, and ascent into Heaven.
Seek the Lord whilst he may be found, call upon him whilst he is near. Having Vers. 6.shewed how the Gentiles should runne unto Christ, he here stirreth up the Jews to do likewise, whereby their slownesse and backwardnesse in coming to him is intimated, for which they had need to be prickt on. For these words, Whilst he may be found, Hebr. is, in making him found] meaning, that to finde him is to seek him, for he that seeketh findeth, and how we ought to seek him, the next words shew, and with what speed, Call upon him whilst he is near. He is indeed alwayes near to every one of us, Act. 17. 28. in respect of his universal presence, whereby he is every where: but then he is said to be near according to the meaning of this place, when he offers his grace to the penitent and believing; so his Word is set forth as most near, Rom. 10. 8. But he is near only to day whilst he is offering it by the Ministery of his Word, whether he will be near thee to morrow or no, knoweth no man. Wherefore he that will turn from prophane to a devout caller upon God whilst he is near, must do it to day, lest to morrow he be further off, and hear not. And it is to be noted, That whoso seeks the Lord calleth upon him, and dares not sin any more, lest he pray in vain, forsomuch as God regardeth not the prayers of the wicked, Isa. 1. 12.
And therefore vers. 7. the wicked is charged to leave his evil wayes and Vers. 7.thoughts also, and so to come to the Lord.
For neither are my thoughts your thoughts, nor my wayes your wayes. This is Vers. 8.by Musculus understood of Gods thoughts and wayes of mercy; and of these Musculus.he saith thus, meaning that he was not implacable when he was angred, as men commonly are. Jerom, That he was not like unto men, to purpose one Hieron.thing now, and after to change his minde, or to have in his thoughts to do a thing, and not to be able to perform it, as men: and this is spoken, lest they should doubt of his performing what he had promised, in calling the Nations to his grace, who had gone so long away from him; or in shewing mercy unto, and pardoning the Jews, who had so greatly sinned against him. And thus indeed these words will answer well to those immediately before-going, He is mercifull and will abundantly pardon. But if they be referred to the former, Let the wicked turn from his wayes, and from his thoughts: These words will more aptly answer to those wayes, to wayes, and thoughts to thoughts, and then the meaning will be, Till ye turn from your wayes and thoughts, and come into my wayes, ye cannot partake of my mercy, for my wayes and yours are contrary, yours earthly and sensual, mine heavenly. So also Ezek. 18. Gods Vers. 9.wayes and mans wayes are opposed, and whoso will live is required to turn from his wayes, which be the wayes of unrighteousnesse, into Gods wayes, which be the wayes of righteousness; and these wayes are so high above mans wayes as heaven is above the earth, and therefore he must be much elevated in his minde by heavenly thoughts, as Col. 3. 1. and in his conversation, which Note. must likewise be heavenly, that would have his former sins pardoned, and be made a vessel of mercy. And for the last words of vers. 7. those of vers. 10. and 11. do better answer; and to those before-going also vers. 5. where he promiseth to call the Gentiles to his grace, and to pardon the Jews, and bring them out of their misery, if they turn; for though this might seem to men impossible, yet as the rain coming from heaven effects that for which it is Vers. 10, 11.sent down, and returns not frustrated of this end, viz. the making of the earth fruitfull, so shall it be in respect of any word or promise that cometh from the Lord by his Prophets that shall certainly be effected, that is thus spoken of whatsoever it be. Yet if these words, My thoughts are not your thoughts, be referied to both this of earthly and heavenly, and to that of constancy and power to do as in mercy he promiseth; we have for this last a like comparison in speaking of Gods mercy made Psal. 103. 11. And some look yet further back to vers. 3. where a promise is of making an everlasting Covenant, and will have these words of the sublimity of Gods thoughts above mans spoken, as answering to that. As if the Lord had said, Doth any man ask how this everlasting Covenant shall be made? I answer, The way whereby is so high that man cannot reach unto it; Believe it therefore, and rest expectation of accomplishment of it, for the Lord whose wayes are so high, hath said it, and therefore knoweth the way, and will do it undoubtedly. I have nothing to except against this, and therefore conceive that the sense may extend to that Promise also.
For ye shall go out with joy, &c. That is, Ye both, the called of the Nations, Vers. 12.and converted of the Jews, from your own wayes shall go out of them with joy, because there is no joy to that which comes to mans heart by the Spirit of grace entering, as is prophesied Isa. 9. and fulfilled Act. 8. in Samaria. But in saying, Ye shall go out, he alludes to the Jews going so joyfully out of Babylon in Cyrus his dayes. And this is the fruit of the rain of Gods Word, according to that before-said vers. 10, 11. for then it took effect, when the Jews in great multitudes believed, and the Gentiles imbraced the faith preached amongst them. For the rejoycing of the mountains, see before upon Chap. 49. 13. And for the Trees it is hyperbolical, For the thorn the fir-tree, the Vulgar Latin Of more trees, see before Cha. 41. 19.Prosaliunca, abies, which saliunca is described to be low and bushy, but sweet, and therefore doth not so aptly set forth the condition of man before grace cometh, but the thorn and the nettle for their basenesse do, but now they are turned into Firres and Myrtles, that is, whereas their mindes were set upon things below, now they are lifted up to things above, and whereas by the harshness of their manners they did prick and sting as thorns and nettles, now Greg. Mor. Dum pro abjectione terrenae cogitationis, altitudo caelestis contemplationis exoritur. Vers. 13.they are gentle as myrtles. Gregory, This is done, when for the basenesse of earthly thoughts the height of supernal contemplation doth arise, and hereby the itching desires of the flesh tending to vice are extinguished, a better temper of the whole man being attained. The Cald. for wicked shall spring up righteous, and for ungodly such as fear God.
And it shall be to the Lord for a name and a sing. That is, this admirable conversion of the Gentiles shall make Christs name famous in all parts of the world, when they shall glory to be called by his name, Christians; and as Emperours having obtained great victories set up monuments thereof for signs, to continue the memory thereof to future generations; so the Nations turning Christians should be a monument to the honour of Christ, who by his Word and Spirit subdued them to himself everlastingly. Some will have the sign of the Crosse, meant by this sign; some the scars in Christs body being unto it a greater glory; as also the marks of the sufferings of his Martyrs; some his Baptism which he instituted for our Regeneration that we might be compleat Christians. But I rest in the first.