Isaiah 59:19 Kommentar

In this chapter we have sin appearing exceedingly sinful, and grace appearing exceedingly gracious; and, as what is here said of the sinner's sin (Isa 59:7, Isa 59:8) is applied to the general corruption of mankind (Rom 3:15), so what is here said of a Redeemer (Isa 59:20) is applied to Christ, Rom 11:26. I. It is here charged upon this people that they had themselves stopped the current of God's favours to them, and the particular sins are specified which kept good things from them (Isa 59:1-8). II. It is here charged upon them that they had themselves procured the judgments of God upon them, and they are told both what the judgments were which they had brought upon their own heads (Isa 59:9-11) and what the sins were which provoked God to send those judgments (Isa 59:12-15). III. It is here promised that, notwithstanding this, God would work deliverance for them, purely for his own name's sake (Isa 59:16-19), and would reserve mercy in store for them and entail it upon them (Isa 59:20, Isa 59:21).

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 59 As the former chapter declares the hypocrisy and formality of professors of religion; this expresses the errors and heresies, immorality and profaneness, which shall prevail before the spiritual reign of Christ, or the latter day glory begins; which is so fully described in the next chapter. Reasons are given of God's withdrawing his presence from a professing people, which were not want of power and readiness in him, but their own sins and transgressions, Isa 59:1 which are enumerated, such as murder, rapine, lies, &c. Isa 59:3 for which the judgments of God were upon them, darkness, distress, and misery, of which they were sensible, Isa 59:9 and confess their sins and transgressions, Isa 59:12 and lament their wretched state and condition, which was displeasing to God, Isa 59:14 who is represented as appearing for their salvation; moved to it by their want of help, and the oppression of their enemies, in which he shows his power, justice, zeal, grace, and goodness, Isa 59:16 the consequence of which shall be the conversion and salvation of many, owing to the efficacy of the divine Spirit, and to the spiritual coming of the Redeemer, Isa 59:19, and the chapter is closed with a promise of the continuance of the Spirit of God, and the Gospel of Christ in his church, unto the end of the world, Isa 59:21.

So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun,.... The eastern and western antichrist being destroyed, way shall be made for the spread of the Gospel east and west; which shall be everywhere embraced, and the true worship of God set up; and the glorious name of the Lord, or the Lord who is glorious in his name, nature, perfections, and works, shall be feared and served from the rising of the sun to the setting of the same, or by all nations under the heavens; see Mal 1:11 and even those that are left in the antichristian states, and escape the general ruin, shall be frightened at his judgments, fear his great and awful name, and give glory to the God of heaven, Rev 11:13. when the enemy shall come in like a flood; when Satan, the common "enemy" of mankind, the avowed and implacable enemy of Christ and his people, "shall come" into the world, and into the church, as he will in the latter day; and has already entered "like" an impetuous flood, threatening to carry all before him, introducing a flood of immorality and profaneness, as in the days of Noah and Lot, to which the times of the Son of Man's coming are likened, Luk 17:26 or else a flood of error and heresy of all sorts; see Rev 12:15 and likewise a flood of persecution, as will be at the slaying of the witnesses, that hour of temptation that will come upon all the earth, to try the inhabitants of it, Rev 3:10. Aben Ezra compares this passage with, and illustrates it by, that time of trouble which will be, such as never was since there was a nation, Dan 12:1 when this will be the case, which seems to be near at hand: the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him; Christ and his Gospel, or Christ the standard lifted up in the ministry of the Gospel, Isa 11:10 a set of ministers shall be raised up, having the everlasting Gospel, which they shall publish to all nations, and which shall have an universal spread; and by means of which the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea; and which will be a sufficient check to the enemy's flood of immorality, error, and persecution; and which, after this, shall be no more; see Rev 14:6. Some render the words, "when he", the glorious name of the Lord, or he who is the glory of the Lord, the brightness of his glory; shall come like a narrow flood, that flows with great swiftness and force, and carries all before it; the Spirit of the Lord lifting him up for a standard (l), that is, in the ministry of the word; "so shall they fear", &c.; then multitudes shall serve the Lord, and worship him. The Targum is, "they that afflict shall be as the overflowing of the river Euphrates; by the word of the Lord shall they be broken;'' and Vitringa thinks there is an allusion to the river Euphrates; interpreting the enemy of the Ottoman Turks, Tartars, and Scythians, stirred up by Satan to distress the church: all this may be applied to the case of particular believers under the assaults of Satan their grand enemy; who seeks all occasions to disturb their peace and destroy their comfort, though he cannot ruin their souls; he comes in, not only into their houses where they dwell, and gives them disturbance there; and into the house of God where they worship, and does all he can to hinder them in attending on the word and ordinances, and to prevent all usefulness, edification, and comfort thereby; but he enters into their hearts, and stirs up the corruptions of their nature, and causes these to rise like a flood, which threaten with bringing them into captivity to the law of sin and death; and attacks them with violent temptations, suggesting that they are not the people of God, the redeemed of the Lamb, or regenerated by the Spirit, but are hypocrites, and never had the work of grace on their hearts; aggravating their sins, and telling them they have sinned the sin against the Holy Ghost, and there is no pardon for them; and at other times filling their minds with blasphemous and atheistical thoughts; all which come upon them sometimes with so much force, that it is like an overflowing flood that threatens with utter destruction; when the Spirit of the Lord within them, who is greater than he that is in the world, lifts up Christ as an ensign or standard to them; and directs them to his blood for peace and pardon, for the cleansing of their souls and the atonement of their sins; where they may see and read, in legible characters, the free and full remission of their sins, and an entire satisfaction to the justice of God for them; and he holds up and holds out the righteousness of Christ unto them, with which God is well pleased, his justice satisfied, and his law made honourable; and by which they are justified from all things, and secured from all charges and condemnation; and who also leads them to the person, power, and grace of Christ, to preserve them in grace to glory, to keep them from falling, and present them faultless before the throne of God; the consequence of which is a check to Satan's temptations; an antidote to the doubts and fears he injects; and an abundance of spiritual peace and comfort; as well as it engages to fear the Lord and his goodness. (l) "etenim veniet (sub. Dominus vel nomen Domini) instar fluminis angusti, spiritu Domini levante ipsum pro vexillo", Bootius, Animadv. I. 1. c. 1. p. 68.

(Verse 19, 20) And those from the West shall fear the name of the Lord, and those from the East, His glory, when He comes like a rushing river, driven by the breath of the Lord. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and to those who turn from wickedness in Jacob, says the Lord. This is my covenant with them, says the Lord: My spirit, which is in you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, says the Lord, from now on and forever. LXX: And those from the west shall fear the name of the Lord, and those from the east, the glorious name. For he shall come like a violent river, the wrath of the Lord. He shall come with fury and he shall come from Zion to deliver. And he shall turn away wickedness from Jacob, and this shall be a covenant to them from me, says the Lord. My spirit, which is in you, and my words, which I have given in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, and from the mouth of your seed, says the Lord, from now and forever. After the Lord is clothed with the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, and the garments of vengeance, and is clad with the cloak of zeal for battle, and comes to the contest and vindication, in order to repay the enemies and render to his adversaries, and to subvert their islands, that is, their cities and villages, then the foreigners who come from the West and the East, in order to rest in the bosom of Abraham (Matthew 8), of whom it is also said above (Isaiah 49:12), 'Behold, these will come from far away, some from the West, and some from the North, and some from the land of the Persians, they will fear the Lord with that fear which is the beginning of wisdom (Sirach 1).' Of which we read in many places, from which let us put a few: Blessed is the man who fears the Lord (Psalm 111:1). And: There is no want for those who fear Him (Psalm 34:10). And: The fear of the Lord is discipline and wisdom (Proverbs 15:33). And: Come, my children, listen to me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord (Psalm 34:12). And: Blessed is the man who fears the Lord (Psalm 127:4). And: The fear of the Lord prolongs days (Proverbs 10:27). But that after Israel is rejected, a multitude of Gentiles succeeds, the prophet Malachi teaches more fully, in which it is said to the Jews: My will is not in you, says the Lord Almighty. And I will not accept a sacrifice from your hands (Malachi 1:10,11). And again from the multitude of nations: From the rising of the sun to its setting, my name is glorified among the nations. The author of this blessing is the one who will come like a violent river, whom the spirit of the Lord forces. Whether as the eagle carries, like a narrow river, the spirit of the Lord is his seal. Or as Theodotio, like a river attacking, the spirit of the Lord is sealed. In this passage, which the Seventy have translated, the anger of the Lord will come with fury, like a violent river. The last part is not found in the Hebrew. For in the promises of God, anger and fury should not be placed, since in the other things that follow, there is the blessedness of the future and the threat and punishment of sinners. However, according to Aquila and Theodotion, the Spirit of the Lord, who is sealed in Christ, confirms that example which is read in the Gospel of John: 'For him, God the Father has sealed' (John 6:27); about whom it was previously said: 'A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord' (Isaiah 11:1-2). Therefore, we also say: 'The light of your face, O Lord, has shone upon us' (Psalm 4:7). And in Ezekiel, the foreheads of weeping men are marked with the letter Thav, the last Hebrew letter among them, by an imprint (Ezek. 9). But if we want to know how the Holy Spirit is a violent river, let us turn to the Acts of the Apostles, in which it is written: When they were all together in one place, suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which settled upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:2-3). It follows: 'A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from wickedness in Jacob,' says the Lord. For this reason, the Seventy translated it: 'A Deliverer will come from Zion, and will turn away wickedness from Jacob.' Therefore, if He will come from Zion to turn away wickedness from Jacob, we understand that a man will be born in Zion, and the Most High will establish it, He who turns away the crimes of Jacob. But if the Redeemer of Zion shall come and those who return from iniquity in Jacob, says the Lord, this is the meaning: Christ will come who will redeem Zion with his blood. Or according to Hebrew custom, who is near to Zion and born of the lineage of Israel, for this is what Goel (i.e., άγκιστεὺς) means. And lest we think that all of Zion is redeemed and delivered from the bloody sins of the Lord, he significantly adds: those who return from iniquity, if they are willing to repent, in whom the Lord's prayer is fulfilled: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34). Therefore their redemption is in Zion: and the one who receives him from Jacob, and he promises to them, saying: This is my covenant with them, whether the agreement, as all others transferred, or the testament, as the Seventy have set forth. But what the covenant, agreement, and testament are, the following verse shows: My spirit, he says, who is in you, and my words that I have placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your seed, from now on and forever. What is said either to Isaiah, as it seems to me, or to the Lord, as most people think. Therefore, the order is connected to Isaiah in this way: This is the everlasting covenant of the Gospel, that my spirit which is in you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, by which you will foretell the future, may not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouths of your sons and grandsons, and your descendants, so that every generation may be shown: that is, that the grace of the Prophets may come in the Apostles, and through them, to those who will believe in Israel through the Apostles. But what He adds is in perfect harmony with this testimony: Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (Matthew 24:35). Expounding this passage carefully, Paul writes to the Romans that there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, but the Lord is the Lord of all, rich unto all that call upon him. (Romans 10). And that the Gentiles have not so believed, as that Israel should be entirely rejected. For I also, says He, am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people, whom He foreknew (Romans. XXII). And after a little while, when he had set an example with Elijah, who complained to the Lord that he alone was left, and heard from Him that the Lord had reserved for Himself seven thousand men who had not bowed the knee to Baal (1 Kings. XIX), he brought it to this: Even so now, at this time, there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. What therefore is it? What Israel was seeking, this it has attained: but the elect have obtained it, and the rest have been blinded. And if they shall remain not in unbelief, they shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again. For if thou wert cut out of the wild olive tree, which is natural to thee; and contrary to nature, were grafted into the good olive tree; how much more shall they that are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree? For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, of this mystery (lest you should be wise in your own conceits)... Because blindness has happened in part to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles enters, and so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins (Rom. 11:25-27). We have explained this in more detail so that whatever promises we read and will say, we understand them to be said specifically to Zion and Jerusalem, not generally to all Jews, but specifically to those who were chosen in the Apostles and through the Apostles from Israel.

1047. Second, he sets out the minister of salvation or vengeance: when he shall come as a violent stream, because of the magnitude of his power and strength, or Christ, the minister: the stream of the river makes the city of God joyful (Ps 45:5[46:4]). 1050. Note also on the words, as a violent stream (Isa 59:19), that Christ is a violent stream: first, because of the multitude of water: the river of God is filled with water (Ps 64:10[65:9]); second, because of the fervor of love: a swift stream of fire issued forth from before him (Dan 7:10); third, because of the swiftness of its course: the stream of the river makes the city of God joyful (Ps 45:5[46:4]); fourth, because of the height of its source: and he showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the lamb (Rev 22:1).

Thy chapter contains a more general reproof of the wickedness of the Jews, Isa 59:1-8. After this they are represented confessing their sins, and deploring the unhappy consequences of them, Isa 59:9-15. On this act of humiliation God, ever ready to pardon the penitent, promises that he will have mercy on them; that the Redeemer will come, mighty to save; and that he will deliver his people, subdue his enemies and establish a new and everlasting covenant, Isa 59:16-21. The foregoing elegant chapter contained a severe reproof of the Jews, in particular for their hypocrisy in pretending to make themselves accepted with God by fasting and outward humiliation without true repentance; while they still continued to oppress the poor, and indulge their own passions and vices; with great promises however of God's favor on condition of their reformation. This chapter contains a more general reproof of their wickedness, bloodshed, violence, falsehood, injustice. At Isa 59:9 they are introduced as making, themselves, an ample confession of their sins, and deploring their wretched state in consequence of them. On this act of humiliation a promise is given that God, in his mercy and zeal for his people, will rescue them from this miserable condition, that the Redeemer will come like a mighty hero to deliver them; he will destroy his enemies, convert both Jews and Gentiles to himself, and give them a new covenant, and a law which shall never be abolished. As this chapter is remarkable for the beauty, strength, and variety of the images with which it abounds; so is it peculiarly distinguished by the elegance of the composition, and the exact construction of the sentences. From the first verse to the two last it falls regularly into stanzas of four lines, (see Prelim. Dissert. p. xxi.), which I have endeavored to express as nearly as possible in the form of the original. - L.

When the enemy shall come in like a flood - This all the rabbins refer to the coming of the Messiah. If ye see a generation which endures much tribulation, then (say they) expect him, according to what is written: "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him." Kimchi says, he that was the standard-bearer always began the battle by first smiting at the enemy. Here then the Spirit of the Lord is the standard-bearer, and strikes the first blow. They who go against sin and Satan with the Holy Spirit at their head, are sure to win the day. The Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him "Which a strong wind driveth along" - Quam spiritus Domini cogit, "Which the Spirit of the Lord drives on." - Vulg. נוססה nosesah, pihel a נוס nus fugit. Kimchi says his father thus explained this word: נוססה nosesah interpretatur in significatione fugae, et ait, spiritus Domini fugabit hostem;-nam secundum eum נוססה nosesah est ex conjugatione quadrata, ejusque radix est נוס nus: "nosesah he interpreted in the signification of flight, - The Spirit of the Lord shall put the enemy to flight; for according to him the root of the word is נוס nus, he put to flight." The object of this action I explain otherwise. The conjunction ו vau, prefixed to רוח ruach, seems necessary to the sense, it is added by the corrector in one of the Koningsberg MSS., collated by Lilienthal. It is added also in one of my own.

THE PEOPLE'S SIN THE CAUSE OF JUDGMENTS: THEY AT LAST OWN IT THEMSELVES: THE REDEEMER'S FUTURE INTERPOSITION IN THEIR EXTREMITY. (Isa. 59:1-21) hand . . . shortened--(See on Isa 50:2). ear heavy-- (Isa 6:10).

(Isa 45:6; Mal 1:11). The result of God's judgments (Isa 26:9; Isa 66:18-20). like a flood-- (Jer 46:7-8; Rev 12:15). lift up a standard--rather, from a different Hebrew root, "shall put him to flight," "drive him away" [MAURER]. LOWTH, giving a different sense to the Hebrew for "enemy" from that in Isa 59:18, and a forced meaning to the Hebrew for "Spirit of the Lord," translates, "When He shall come as a river straitened in its course, which a mighty wind drives along."

This second prophetic address continues the reproachful theme of the first. In the previous prophecy we found the virtues which are well-pleasing to God, and to which He promises redemption as a reward of grace, set in contrast with those false means, upon which the people rested their claim to redemption. In the prophecy before us the sins which retard redemption are still more directly exposed. "Behold, Jehovah's hand is not too short to help, nor His ear too heavy to hear; but your iniquities have become a party-wall between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear." The reason why redemption is delayed, is not that the power of Jehovah has not been sufficient for it (cf., Isa 50:2), or that He has not been aware of their desire for it, but that their iniquities (עונתיכם with the second syllable defective) have become dividers (מבדּלים, defective), have grown into a party-wall between them and their God, and their sins (cf., Jer 5:25) have hidden pânı̄m from them. As the "hand" (yâd) in Isa 28:2 is the absolute hand; so here the "face" pânı̄m) is that face which sees everything, which is everywhere present, whether uncovered or concealed; which diffuses light when it unveils itself, and leaves darkness when it is veiled; the sight of which is blessedness, and not to see which is damnation. This absolute countenance is never to be seen in this life without a veil; but the rejection and abuse of grace make this veil a perfectly impenetrable covering. And Israel had forfeited in this way the light and sight of this countenance of God, and had raised a party-wall between itself and Him, and that משּׁמוע, so that He did not hear, i.e., so that their prayer did not reach Him (Lam 3:44) or bring down an answer from Him.

The prophet now proceeds to depict the ישׁוּעה, the symbol of which is the helmet upon Jehovah's head. "And they will fear the name of Jehovah from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun: for He will come like a stream dammed up, which a tempest of Jehovah drives away. And a Redeemer comes for Zion, and for those who turn from apostasy in Jacob, saith Jehovah." Instead of ויראוּ, Knobel would strike out the metheg, and read ויראוּ, "and they will see;" but "seeing the name of Jehovah" (the usual expression is "seeing His glory") is a phrase that cannot be met with, though it is certainly a passable one; and the relation in which Isa 59:19 stands to Isa 59:19 does not recommend the alteration, since Isa 59:19 attributes that general fear of the name of Jehovah (cf., Deu 28:58) and of His glory (see the parallel overlooked by Knobel, Psa 102:16), which follows the manifestation of judgment on the part of Jehovah, to the manner in which this manifestation occurs. Moreover, the true Masoretic reading in this passage is not ויראו (as in Mic 7:17), but וייראו (see Norzi). The two מן in ממּערב (with the indispensable metheg before the chateph, and a second to ensure clearness of pronunciation) (Note: See the law in Br's Metheg-Setzung, 29.) and וּממּזרח־שׁמשׁ (also with the so-called strong metheg) (Note: See idem, 28.) indicate the terminus a quo. From all quarters of the globe will fear of the name and of the glory of Jehovah become naturalized among the nations of the world. For when God has withdrawn His name and His glory from the world's history, as during the Babylonian captivity (and also at the present time), the return of both is all the more intense and extraordinary; and this is represented here in a figure which recals Isa 30:27-28; Isa 10:22-23 (cf., Eze 43:2). The accentuation, which gives pashta to כנּהר, does indeed appear to make צר the subject, either in the sense of oppressor or adversary, as in Lam 4:12, or in that of oppression, as in Isa 25:4; Isa 26:16; Isa 30:20. The former is quite out of the question, since no such transition to a human instrument of the retributive judgment could well take place after the לצריו חמה in Isa 59:18. In support of the latter, it would be possible to quote Isa 48:18 and Isa 66:12, since צר is the antithesis to shâlōm. But according to such parallels as Isa 30:27-28, it is incomparably more natural to take Jehovah (His name, His glory) as the subject. Moreover, בּו, which must in any case refer to כנהר, is opposed to the idea that צר is the subject, to which בו would have the most natural claim to be referred - an explanation indeed which Stier and Hahn have really tried, taking נוססח as in Psa 60:4, and rendering it "The Spirit of Jehovah holds up a banner against him, viz., the enemy." If, however, Jehovah is the subject to יבא, צר כנּהר must be taken together (like מכסּים ... כּמּים, Isa 11:9; טובה רוּחך, Psa 143:10; Ges. 111, 2, b), either in the sense of "a hemming stream," one causing as it were a state of siege (from tsūr, Isa 21:2; Isa 29:3), or, better still, according to the adjective use of the noun צר (here with tzakeph, צר from צרר) in Isa 28:20; Job 41:7; Kg2 6:1, a closely confined stream, to whose waters the banks form a compressing dam, which it bursts through when agitated by a tempest, carrying everything away with it. Accordingly, the explanation we adopt is this: Jehovah will come like the stream, a stream hemmed in, which a wind of Jehovah, i.e., (like "the mountains of God," "cedars of God," "garden of Jehovah," Isa 51:3, cf., Num 24:6) a strong tempestuous wind, sweeps away (בּו נססה, nōsesa-b-bô, with the tone drawn back and dagesh forte conj. in the monosyllable, the pilel of nūs with Beth: to hunt into, to press upon and put to flight) - a figure which also indicates that the Spirit of Jehovah is the driving force in this His judicially gracious revelation of Himself. Then, when the name of Jehovah makes itself legible once more as with letters of fire, when His glory comes like a sea of fire within the horizon of the world's history, all the world form west to east, from east to west, will begin to fear Him. But the true object of the love, which bursts forth through this revelation of wrath, is His church, which includes not only those who have retained their faith, but all who have been truly converted to Him. And He comes (וּבא) a continuation of יבא) for Zion a Redeemer, i.e., as a Redeemer (a closer definition of the predicate), and for those who turn away from apostasy (פשׁע שׁבי, compare Isa 1:27, and for the genitive connection Mic 2:8, מלחמה שׁוּבי, those who have turned away form the war). The Vav here does not signify "and indeed," as in Isa 57:18, but "more especially." He comes as a Redeemer for Zion, i.e., His church which has remained true, including those who turn again to Jehovah from their previous apostasy. In Rom 11:26 the apostle quotes this word of God, which is sealed with "Thus saith Jehovah," as a proof of the final restoration of all Israel; for יהוה (according to the Apocalypse, ὁ ὤν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος) is to him the God who moves on through the Old Testament towards the goal of His incarnation, and through the New Testament towards that of His parousia in Christ, which will bring the world's history to a close. But this final close does not take place without its having become apparent at the same time that God "has concluded all in unbelief that He may have compassion upon all" (Rom 11:32).