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Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 1:1

The vision of Isaiah which he saw. The modern theory, that the prophetical gift was a mere "presentiment, "or" insight, "closely akin to that by which clear-sighted men of all times and nations have been able, in many respects, to forecast the coming course of events, is not very easily reconcilable with these words , "the vision of Isaiah which he scow ." As a commentator whose freedom from the shackles of tradition is beyond dispute observes, "With Isaiah, it" ( i.e. prophecy)... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 1:1

The times and mission of Isaiah. God raises up the man for the age, giving him gifts for the particular work which the age may demand. History is not a mere faithful record of things done, but a wise and sympathetic estimate of men doing. A man has more power on us than a truth. A man is grander than any doctrine or any book. Christianity, as a mere system, is a powerless thing; it never quickened anybody from his death of trespasses and sins. The personal Christ is our life. In the sphere... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 1:1-2

Ingratitude and intervention. The "vision of Isaiah" during the reigns of four kings of Judah (verse 1), and the declaration (verse 2) that "the Lord hath spoken" (or speaketh), suggests— I. THE FACT THAT GOD HAS INTERVENED AND DOES INTERVENE IN HUMAN AFFAIRS . 1. Such Divine intervention ought not to have been necessary . For God has so ordered everything around us, and has so constituted us ourselves, that there were abundant sources of truth and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 1:1-9

Jehovah arraigns his people. I. INGRATITUDE THE BASEST OF SINS . He, the Father, has been faithlessly forsaken by ungrateful sons. This is the worst form of ingratitude. "Filial ingratitude! Is it not as this mouth should tear this hand For lifting food to it?" ('King Lear.') It has been said that The wretch whom gratitude once fails to bind, To truth or honor let him lay no claim, But stand confess'd the brute disguised in man." But the brutes are grateful;... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 1:2

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth . "A grave and magnificent exorilium! All nature is invoked to hear Jehovah make complaint of the ingratitude of his people" (Rosenmüller). The invocation is cast in the same form with that so common in Deuteronomy ( Deuteronomy 4:26 ; Deuteronomy 30:19 ; Deuteronomy 31:28 ; Deuteronomy 32:1 ), and seems to indicate familiarity with that book. The idea extends widely among sacred and other poets (see Psalms 1:3 , Psalms 1:4 ; Micah 6:1 , ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 1:2

Sin as broken sonship. Literally, the verse reads, "Sons I have made great and high, and they have broken away from me." The later conception of the Jewish covenant embraced the ideas of fatherhood and sonship, and thus prepared for the revelation of the fatherhood of God in the teachings of the Lord Jesus, and for the apprehension of the "sonship of men" through Christ's own sonship. It is the point of impression, that this relation intensifies the guilt of the people's unfaithfulness and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 1:2-3

God's arraignment of his people. God claims his people's willing obedience on three grounds. 1. They are his children. 2. He has made them great. 3. He has exalted them to eminence among the nations. I. As HIS CHILDREN , they are bound to love and serve him, to be grateful to him for his manifold mercies, and to yield him entire obedience. He is the Author of their being; he sustains their life; he feeds them, supports them, gives them every blessing which they enjoy. In... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 1:2-6

GOD 'S COMPLAINT AGAINST HIS PEOPLE . The groundwork of Isaiah's entire prophecy is Judah's defection from God. God's people have sinned, done amiss, dealt wickedly. The hour of vengeance approaches. Punishment has begun, and will go on, continually increasing in severity. National repentance would avert God's judgments, but the nation will not repeat. God's vengeance will fall, and by it a remnant will be purified, and return to God, and be his true people. In the present section... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 1:3

The ox … the ass. The ox and the ass are probably selected as the least intelligent of domesticated animals (so Jerome, Rosenmüller, and Gesenius). Yet even they recognize their owner or master. Jeremiah contrasts the brutish stupidity of Israel with the wise instinct of animals that have not been domesticated, as the stork, the turtle-dove, the crane, and the swallow ( Jeremiah 8:7 ). Israel doth not know; i.e. does not acknowledge its Master and Owner, pays him no respect, does not... read more

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