Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Isaiah
Book: Isaiah
Chapter: 57
Overview:
The blessed
Death of the righteous.
(1,2) The abominable
idolatries of the Jewish nation.
(3-12) Promises to the humble
and contrite.
(13-21)
1,2 The righteous are delivered from the sting of
Death, not
from the stroke of it. The careless world disregards this. Few
lament it as a public loss, and very few notice it as a public
warning. They are taken away in compassion, that they may not
see the evil, nor share in it, nor be tempted
By it. The
righteous
Man, when he dies, enters into peace and
Rest.
3-12 The
Lord here calls apostates and hypocrites to appear
before him. When reproved for their sins, and threatened with
judgments, they ridiculed the
Word of God. The Jews were guilty
of
Idolatry before the
Captivity; but not after that affliction.
Their zeal in the
Worship of false gods, may shame our
indifference in the
Worship of the true
God. The service of
Sin
is disgraceful slavery; those who thus debase themselves to
Hell, will justly have their portion there. Men incline to a
religion that inflames their unholy passions. They are led to do
any evil, however great or vile, if they think it will atone for
crimes, or purchase indulgence for some favourite
Lust. This
explains
Idolatry, whether pagan, Jewish, or antichristian. But
those who set up anything instead of
God, for their
Hope and
confidence, never will come to a right
End. Those who forsake
the only right way, wander in a thousand
By-paths. The pleasures
of
Sin soon tire, but never satisfy. Those who care not for the
Word of God and his providences, show they have
No fear of
God.
Sin profits not; it ruins and destroys.
13-21 The idols and their worshippers shall come to nothing;
but those who trust in
God's
Grace, shall be brought to the joys
of
Heaven. With the
Lord there is neither beginning of days, nor
End of
Life, nor change of time. His name is holy, and all must
know him as a holy
God. He will have tender regard to those who
bring their mind to their condition, and dread his wrath. He
will make his abode with those whose hearts he has thus humbled,
in order to revive and comfort them. When troubles last long,
even good men are tempted to
Entertain hard thoughts of
God.
Therefore He will not contend for ever, for he will not forsake
the work of his own hands, nor defeat the purchase of his Son's
Blood.
Covetousness is a
Sin that particularly lays men under
the Divine displeasure. See the sinfulness of
Sin. See also that
troubles cannot reform men unless
God's
Grace work in them.
Peace shall be published, perfect peace. It is the
Fruit of
preaching lips, and praying lips.
Christ came and preached peace
to
Gentiles, as
Well as to the Jews; to after-ages, who were
afar off in time, as
Well as to those of that
Age. But the
wicked would not be healed
By God's
Grace, therefore would not
be healed
By his comforts. Their ungoverned lusts and passions
made them like the troubled
Sea. Also the terrors of
Conscience
disturbed their enjoyments.
God hath said it, and all the world
cannot unsay it, That there is
No peace to those who allow
themselves in any
Sin. If we are recovered from such an awful
state, it is only
By the
Grace of
God. And the influences of the
Holy
Spirit, and that new
Heart, from whence comes grateful
praise, the
Fruit of our lips, are his
Gift.
Salvation, with all
its fruits, hopes, and comforts, is his work, and to him belongs
all the
Glory. There is
No peace for the wicked
Man; but let the
wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous
Man his thoughts;
and let him return to the
Lord, and he will have
Mercy upon him,
and to our
God, and he will abundantly
Pardon.