If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke (comp. Isaiah 58:6 ). The putting forth of the finger. The pointing of the finger at any one in scorn. And speaking vanity; rather, speaking evil , or plotting evil, against others. read more
Conditions of answer to prayer. Were these men, whose lives were spent for self, but who made a show of seeming to want God, proper persons to receive answers to their prayers? Let the Apostle James answer. "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts" ( James 4:3 ). God wants signs of right character in those whose petitions he grants; for such character is the only guarantee that what he gives is rightly accepted and rightly used. Here with... read more
If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry ; i.e. not merely giving him bread, but giving him sympathy and compassion with it. Then shall thy light rise in obscurity (comp. Psalms 112:4 , "Unto the godly there riseth up light in the darkness;" and see above, Psalms 112:8 ). read more
The Lord shall guide thee continually ; i.e. "direct thee in all thy paths—teach thee the way that thou shouldst walk in." In drought. In time of spiritual depression and weariness. Make fat thy bones ; i.e. sustain thy strength. Thou shall; be like a watered garden (comp. Jeremiah 31:12 ). read more
Guided, provided, and refreshed. "Guide thee;" "Satisfy thy soul in drought; … Make fat thy bones; … Make thee like a watered garden." These figures are all plain and simple, but the last of them gains point by some knowledge of Eastern sentiments. Van Lennep tells us that, in the East, "almost every house has more or less of a garden adjoining. There is neither system nor regular laying out. Trees are scattered about with little or no plan, and patches for vegetables are laid out as... read more
They that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places . Thy descendants shall restore all that has fallen into decay in Israel, whether it be cities or customs. They shall restore "breaches" of every kind, and bring back the old paths for thee to walk in. The restoration of the ruined cities of Judah may be glanced at, but is far from exhausting the writer's meaning (comp. Isaiah 61:4 ). read more
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath ; i.e. treat it with reverence, as if it were "holy ground" ( Exodus 3:5 ; Proverbs 4:27 ). From doing thy pleasure; rather, from doing thy business— the same expression as in Isaiah 58:3 . It is by "business," not by pleasure, that the sabbath was polluted both in the time of Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 17:21-23 ) and of Nehemiah ( Nehemiah 10:31 , etc.). And call the sabbath a delight. This is the spiritualization of the sabbath—"to call"... read more
Rightful and wrongful keeping of the sabbath need to be distinguished. I. The more worldly among the Jews were inclined to a mere perfunctory keeping of the sabbath. They shut up men's religious duties on the day within the corners of the Levitical enactments; and considered that, if the legal sacrifices were offered, and the "holy convocation" held and duly attended, the rest of the day might be employed exactly as they pleased. They pursued their secular occupations on the sabbath day... read more
The sabbath ideal. "Call the sabbath a delight." It cannot be a holy day unless it is a happy day. For only souls that joy in God are really devout. Unless religious exercises have a charm for the soul, they are only routine; they are not religious. I. A SEEMING CONTRADICTION . "Turn away thy foot … from doing thy pleasure." And again, "Not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure." But there is no real contradiction. Many things are rightly enough pleasant to us in... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 58:8
The break of day. "Then shall thy light break forth as the morning." The hindrances to progress in God's Church are not in Divine limitations, but in human perversions. I. THE LIGHT IS THERE . We hide it under the bushel of our formalism and worldliness. Divine revelation gives it—yea, keeps it alive; and it' we remove the obstacles to its glory, it will burst forth. Many blame religion for the faults and formalities of nominally religious men. II. THE REVELATION OF ... read more