Isaiah 47

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 47:6

What we owe to the aged. "Upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke." This wrong-doing is selected, out of all others, to point the reproaches of the prophet. If Babylon would do that, it was merciless enough to do anything. Hard, indeed, is the heart that will show no pity for old age, but will lay a heavy yoke on its shoulders. We may let this sentence suggest to us the light in which a Christian man will look at age. What is its due? How shall we exhibit the temper our Master... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 47:6

Doing God's work unworthily. "Thou didst not show them compassion." God had entrusted Babylon with the work of executing his Divine judgments on his people. The work was done, but God could not approve of the way in which it was done. Compare, for illustrative purposes, the cases of King Saul and of John. Saul was made executioner of the Divine judgment on Amalek, but God could not approve of his work: he erred on the side of laxity. Jehu was made executioner of the Divine judgment on the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 47:7

And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever . The idea of "continuance" is one of the primary instincts of human nature. Hence we regard it as certain that the sun will rise on the morrow. We expect things to "continue in one stay," and "to-morrow to be as to-day," if not even "more abundant." Babylon was not much more arrogant than other nations when she assumed that silo would be "a lady for ever." And she had more excuse than almost any other nation. Her capital was one of the most... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 47:7

Due regard to consequences. "Neither didst remember the latter end of it." The experiences of mankind have brought the conviction that moral laws are always and uniformly working, as surely as physical laws. Wrong universally leads on to ruin. Whatsoever a man sows he reaps. "Sin, when it is finished, brings forth death." This is all so certain that, if any man proposes to take any particular course in life, he may duly consider the "latter end of it"—he may estimate it in the light of that... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 47:7-11

Spiritual infatuation. This is a striking picture of infatuation. We note— I. ITS ESSENTIAL NATURE . Under the perverting influence of sin men come into a mental and spiritual condition in which everything is strange, unnatural, distorted. Something has "perverted" them ( Isaiah 47:10 ). It is a condition in which things seem to them other than they are—in which they fail to discern what ought to be quite palpable to them, in which they are subject to unhappy and hurtful... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 47:8

Therefore ; rather, and now. The third strophe begins here, but with a single, instead of a double, imperative. So also the fourth strophe in Isaiah 47:12 . Thou that art given to pleasures (see the comment on Isaiah 47:1 , sub fin.). That dwellest carelessly ; or, that sittest securely; i.e. in an imagined security. Herodotus says that, when Cyrus invested the city, the inhabitants "made light of his siege" (1.190), and occupied themselves "in dancing and revelry" (1.191). The... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 47:9

In a moment in one day . The day of the capture of the city by Cyrus, which was the third of Marchesvan, b.c. 539. Then, "in a moment," Babylon lost the whole of her prestige, ceased to reign, ceased to be an independent power, became a "widow," had a portion of her population turn from her, was brought down to the dust. Loss of children, and widowhood came upon her in their perfection ; i.e. "in the full extent of their bitterness" (Cheyne). Not that Cyrus imitated her common... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 47:10

Thou hast trusted in thy wickedness; i.e. in thy incantations and spells, which were supposed to work in secret, and which could not be counteracted if their victim was not aware of them. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee. The astronomical "wisdom and knowledge" of the Babylonians, confessed by the Greeks to have been the origin of their own astronomical knowledge, led them on to that perversion of true science, astrology, which, when once entered upon, seduces the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 47:11

Therefore shall evil come upon thee . Connect this with the first clause of Isaiah 47:10 , "Thou hast trusted in thine own evil (moral), therefore shall evil (physical) fall upon thee." The same word, ra ' ah , is used in both places. Thou shalt not know from whence it riseth . So the Vulgate, Vitringa, Gesenius, and Dr. Kay. But the bulk of modern commentators (Hitzig, Ewald, Delitzsch, Nagelsbach, Weir, Cheyne) render, "Thou wilt not know how to charm it away. " Both meanings... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 47:11

Man's helplessness in presence of Divine calamities. The point impressed is that disaster takes unexpected and overwhelming forms, against which the wisest man fails to take precautions. Man can only affect the smallest of circumstances that are put into his control, and the few persons who are under his immediate influence. But each one of us belongs to a great whole, and is affected by great forces, which God alone controls. We are carried whither we would not. We are borne down by evils... read more

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