Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Isaiah
Book: Isaiah
Chapter: 24
Overview:
The
Desolation of the land.
(1-12) A few shall be preserved.
(13-15) God's kingdom advanced
By his judgments.
(16-23)
1-12 All whose treasures and happiness are laid up
On Earth,
will soon be brought to want and misery. It is good to apply to
ourselves what the
Scripture says of the vanity and vexation of
Spirit which attend all things here below.
Sin has turned the
Earth upside down; the
Earth is become quite different to
Man,
from what it was when
God first made it to be his
Habitation. It
is, at the best, like a flower, which withers in the hands of
those that please themselves with it, and lay it in their
bosoms. The world we live in is a world of disappointment, a
vale of tears; the children of men in it are but of few days,
and full of trouble, See the power of
God's
Curse, how it makes
all empty, and lays waste all ranks and conditions.
Sin brings
these calamities upon the
Earth; it is polluted
By the sins of
men, therefore it is made desolate
By God's judgments.
Carnal
joy will soon be at
End, and the
End of it is heaviness.
God has
many ways to embitter
Wine and
Strong Drink to those who
Love
them; distemper of body, anguish of mind, and the ruin of the
estate, will make
Strong Drink Bitter, and the delights of sense
tasteless. Let men learn to
Mourn for
Sin, and rejoice in
God;
then
No Man,
No event, can take their joy from them.
13-15 There shall be a remnant preserved from the general ruin,
and it shall be a devout and pious remnant. These few are
dispersed; like the gleanings of the
Olive tree, hid under the
leaves. The
Lord knows those that are his; the world does not.
When the mirth of
Carnal worldlings ceases, the joy of the
saints is as lively as ever, because the
Covenant of
Grace, the
Fountain of their comforts, and the foundation of their hopes,
never fails. Those who rejoice in the
Lord can rejoice in
Tribulation, and
By Faith may triumph when all about them are in
tears. They encourage their fellow-sufferers to do likewise,
even those who are in the
Furnace of affliction. Or, in the
valleys, low, dark, miry places. In every
Fire, even the
hottest, in every place, even the remotest, let us keep up our
good thoughts of
God. If none of these trials move us, then we
Glorify the
Lord in the fires.
16-23 Believers may be driven into the uttermost parts of the
Earth; but they are singing, not sighing. Here is terror to
sinners; the
Prophet laments the miseries he saw breaking in
like a torrent; and the small number of believers. He foresees
that
Sin would abound. The meaning is
Plain, that evil pursues
sinners. Unsteady, uncertain are all these things. Worldly men
think to
Dwell in the
Earth as in a
Palace, as in a
Castle; but
it shall be removed like a
Cottage, like a
Lodge Put up for the
night. It shall fall and not rise again; but there shall be new
heavens and a new
Earth, in which shall
Dwell nothing but
Righteousness.
Sin is a
Burden to the whole
Creation; it is a
heavy
Burden, under which it groans now, and will sink at last.
The high ones, that are puffed up with their grandeur, that
think themselves out of the reach of danger,
God will visit for
their pride and cruelty. Let us
Judge nothing before the time,
though some shall be visited. None in this world should be
secure, though their condition be ever
So prosperous; nor need
any despair, though their condition be ever
So deplorable.
God
will be glorified in all this. But the
Mystery of
Providence is
not yet finished. The ruin of the
Redeemer's enemies must make
way for his kingdom, and then the
Sun of
Righteousness will
appear in full
Glory. Happy are those who take warning
By the
sentence against others; every impenitent sinner will sink under
his transgression, and rise
No more, while believers enjoy
Everlasting bliss.