อิสยาห์ 59:20 วิจารณ์

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.

And the Redeemer shall come to Zion,.... Not Cyrus, as some; but the Messiah, as it is applied in the Talmud (m) and in other Jewish writers (n), and as Aben Ezra rightly interprets it; and so Kimchi, who also understands by the enemy, in the preceding verse, Gog and Magog; and this must be understood not of the first coming of Christ to redeem his people by his blood from sin, Satan, and the law; but of his spiritual coming to Zion to the church of God in the latter day, at the time of the conversion of the Jews, as appears from the quotation, and application of it by the apostle, Rom 11:25 and with it compare Rev 14:1, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord; that is, to such among the Jews, the posterity of Jacob, who repent of their sins, and turn from them; and particularly their sin of the rejection of the Messiah, and the disbelief of him, and turn to him, and believe in him as their Saviour and King. The Targum is, "and the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and to turn the transgressors of the house of Jacob to the law;'' but rather the turn will be to the Gospel of Christ. (m) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 98. l. & Yoma, fol. 86. 2. (n) Echa Rabbati, fol. 47. 2.

For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. [Isaiah 59:20-21] As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

“And he will come to Zion as Redeemer,” that is, Zerubbabel. Therefore the spiritual Zion and the hill of visions and revelations is the church. The Redeemer, who comes to it, is Christ, that great Zerubbabel. “This is my covenant with you,” which I made with your ancestors on the mountain, so that my words might never be lacking from the mouths of your descendants.

(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.

He continues, “The Redeemer will come to Zion and to those who return from iniquity in Jacob, says the Lord.” The Septuagint, however, translates this as follows: “He who will liberate shall come from Zion and avert impieties from Jacob.” If he who averts impieties from Jacob will come from Zion, therefore, we should understand that this man is born in Zion and that the Most High established him there who averts sins from Jacob. If, however, “the Redeemer will come to Zion and to those who return from iniquity in Jacob, says the Lord,” this means that Christ will redeem Zion with his own blood. Or it could be that he was begotten from the seed of Israel, for that is what “Goel” means (Anchisteus in Greek) according to the distinctively Hebrew, which neighbors Zion. And lest we think that all of Zion is redeemed and liberated from sin, which is flowing with the blood of the Lord, he adds significantly, “to those who return from iniquity,” that is, provided that they are willing to do penance, for which persons the prayer of the Lord is completed with “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

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.

Unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob "And shall turn away iniquity from Jacob" - So the Septuagint and St. Paul, Rom 11:26, reading instead of לשבי leshabey and ביעקב beyaacob, והשיב veheshib and מיעקב meyaacob. The Syriac likewise reads והשיב veheshib; and the Chaldee, to the same sense, ולהשיב ulehashib. Our translators have expressed the sense of the present reading of the Hebrew text: "And unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob."

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).

to Zion-- Rom 11:26 quotes it, "out of Zion." Thus Paul, by inspiration, supplements the sense from Psa 14:7 : He was, and is come to Zion, first with redemption, being sprung as man out of Zion. The Septuagint translates "for the sake of Zion." Paul applies this verse to the coming restoration of Israel spiritually. them that turn from-- (Rom 11:26). "shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob"; so the Septuagint, Paul herein gives the full sense under inspiration. They turn from transgression, because He first turns them from it, and it from them (Psa 130:4; Lam 5:21).

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.