Isaiah 5

Notes

Ver. 1-6. God's people, the Jews, were placed in the fruitful land of Canaan, from whence he had cast out the hardened heathens. They were the chosen offspring of Abraham, fenced about by a covenant of peculiar protection, blessed with the knowledge of the true religion, and with a temple, altar, and the manifold ordinances thereof, and with every other external means of rendering them fruitful in good works. Instead of yielding the fruits of righteousness to the praise of the glory of God, as might have been expected, they abandoned themselves to errors and immoralities; wherefore he will give up them and all that they have to be seized and destroyed by their enemies. Their country shall be rendered desolate, without either ministers or magistrates to take care of them, and their fields quite barren and cursed. Errors, and immoralities too, shall everywhere abound among them, and all spiritual and comfortable influences shall be restrained.—14, 15. Multitudes of their nobles and merry revellers shall be hurled into the depths of death and damnation; and persons of every rank shall be debased or ruined. 16. But God shall manifest the glory of his power, holiness, justice, and truth, in the righteous punishment of these incorrigible sinners. 17. And while the poor who fear his name shall enjoy the fruits of the land, the estates of the wealthy wicked shall be given to others. 18, 19. Dreadful shall be the ruin of those who are so set upon their wickedness that they spare no expense nor labour to commit it, and scornfully defy Jehovah to ruin them by his threatened and purposed judgments. 20. And of those who approve and plead for what is wicked; and condemn, hate, disparage, and persecute what is good: 23. Or accuse and condemn the righteous as guilty; 24, 25. Therefore sudden and utter destruction shall seize upon them. 26-30. Easily determined by the providence of God, the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Romans shall rapidly, and with great success, fury, and cruelty, invade and waste their country; while both heaven and earth shall seemingly concur to render the condition of the inhabitants utterly desperate.

Ver. 1. Now will I sing. Who sings this 'song of loves?' Isaiah the prophet; as will appear from the commencement of ch. vi., where he evidently continues to speak, as here, in the first person. That it is in allusion to Ca. 8. 11 there can be no doubt. C.

Ver. 2. The following circumstances are worthy of special note. (1) The soil fruitful; the position a hill, Mat. 5. 14. (2) Fenced by providential care, holy laws, and vigilant inspection. (3) Stones carefully raised from the soil and gathered out; worldly obstructions removed, such as Egyptian bondage, Philistine invasion, heathen persecution, &c. (4) Planted with the choicest vine—the revelation of Jesus, Jn. 15. 1. (5) A tower for watch and defence: the revealed Word—the glorious headship of Christ over all things to the church—a standing ministry and gospel government. (6) A wine-press—reproof, correction, warning, exhortation, example, promises, with godly and holy discipline—all acting upon conscience in 'terrors of the Lord'—fears and hopes as needful. C.

Ver. 4. Brought it forth wild grapes? The choice vine would not bear wild grapes—some other plant must therefore have sprung up, as the tares among the wheat, Mat. 13. 27, 28. The plant called 'wild grapes' is generally supposed to be a species of the deadly-nightshade which grows profusely in Egypt and Palestine. C.

Ver. 8. It is worthy of solemn note, that covetousness of a field seems to have been the immediate temptation by which Satan entered and possessed the heart of Judas, Ac. 1. 18. C.

Ver. 12. They regard not, &c. Men commonly estimate sin only by its results in the amount of ostensible and immediate injury it brings upon themselves or others: God estimates it by its principle and root—forgetfulness of God, and its ultimate consequences, ruin, sometimes slow, but always certain, in time, and misery inevitable in eternity. C.

Ver. 16. Exalted and sanctified. Angels and men shall honour him for the righteous judgment he has executed, and acknowledge that he is holy in all his works and ways. C.

Ver. 17. Shall the lambs feed. God's people, who are as lambs, young, and unprotected, shall yet feed safely in green pastures, 'after the manner' of lambs, following their own spirit, without any enemy to affright or devour.—Shall strangers eat. Those Gentiles that were 'aliens and strangers' shall inherit the blessings that Israel has forfeited, Ro. 9. 30; 11. 17, 24; Ep. 2. 11, 12. C.

Ver. 18. Those who have read concerning the worship of Juggernaut in the East Indies, and the drawing of the idol's car by a rope grasped and pulled by the pilgrims, will perceive an apt illustration of this verse. C.

Ver. 23. The most remarkable example of this perversion of justice is to be found in the trial and condemnation of our Lord; and many subordinate examples in the cruel martyrdom of Christ's faithful witnesses by Jews, heathens, and nominal Christians. C.

Ver. 25. Hills did tremble. This may be an allusion to the great earthquake in the days of Uzziah, Am. 1. 1; Zec. 14. 5. Josephus relates that this earthquake was so violent as to divide a mountain to the west of Jerusalem, and carry one-half to a distance of five hundred paces. The hills may also be employed as emblems of men of exalted rank, destroyed in the disastrous overthrow of their country. C.

Ver. 26. Hiss. The original signifies to hiss, whistle, or shriek. Cyril states that, in his time, it was customary to collect bees by a shrill whistle, either to take them afield or to bring them home; and it is still said to be employed for the same purpose in Lithuania and Muscovy, countries abounding with bees. See Nature Displayed, vol. iii. p. 23, 12mo edition. C.

Ver. 30. In that day. That day here evidently means a day differing in its circumstances from each of the preceding days so named. Its special characteristic is invasion by a warlike people, ardent for war, admirably accoutred, fierce, ravenous, and irresistible—characteristics that seem fully to describe the Roman armies by whom the Jewish state was finally overturned under Titus, and by whom the people and the movable property of the whole land was borne off as the prey of the conquerors. C.

Reflections.—All the privileges that we enjoy, whether temporal or spiritual, ought to be viewed as coming from God. And highly favoured are those whom he renders his visible church, and on whom he bestows the ordinances and influences of his grace. But how highly criminal and provoking is it to God if, instead of eminent piety and virtue, they abandon themselves to the most abominable errors and corruptions! Corrupt professors will often go the most fearful lengths in impiety and vice when left to their own hearts' lusts. Nothing is so base, so horrid, but they will become shameless and bold in it. But the most terrible woes are annexed to presumptuous sinning: and awfully correspondent to men's sins are the divine punishments thereof! While God glorifies himself and protects his people, the disdainful imprecators of his judgments are often answered by the rapid, terrible, and ruinous execution thereof. Let the British nation tremble, lest this chapter, which so plainly exhibits the mercies of God to them, and their sins against him, should have its threatenings verified in their utter destruction!