Isaiah 55:1-13

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 55:1-5

Here, I. We are all invited to come and take the benefit of that provision which the grace of God has made for poor souls in the new covenant, of that which is the heritage of the servants of the Lord (Isa. 54:17), and not only their heritage hereafter, but their cup now, Isa. 55:1. Observe, 1. Who are invited: Ho, every one. Not the Jews only, to whom first the word of salvation was sent, but the Gentiles, the poor and the maimed, the halt and the blind, are called to this marriage supper,... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 55:6-13

We have here a further account of that covenant of grace which is made with us in Jesus Christ, both what is required and what is promised in the covenant, and of those considerations that are sufficient abundantly to confirm our believing compliance with and reliance on that covenant. This gracious discovery of God's good-will to the children of men is not to be confined either to the Jew or to the Gentile, to the Old Testament or to the New, much less to the captives in Babylon. No, both the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 55:1

Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters ,.... These are the words not of the prophet, but of the Lord, as what follows throughout the chapter shows; and are directed to the Gentiles, as Aben Ezra thinks: and indeed their conversion is manifestly spoken of in it; and who, Kimchi says, after the war of Gog and Magog, shall know that the Lord reigns, and shall come and be desirous of learning his judgments and laws. The word "ho" is expressive of calling, as the Jewish commentators... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 55:2

Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread ?.... Lavish away time, opportunities, and strength, in reading and hearing false doctrine, which is not bread, but chaff; is not wholesome, does not nourish, but is harmful and destructive; eats as does a canker, instead of feeding and refreshing; such as the vain philosophy of the Gentiles, the traditions of the Jews, and the errors and heresies of false teachers: and your labour for that which satisfieth not ? labouring to seek... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 55:3

Incline your ear, and come unto me ,.... The exhortations are repeated, to show the importance of them, how welcome these persons were to the Lord, and to his house, and his earnest and tender care and concern for them: hear, and your soul shall live ; or, "that your soul may live F6 ותחי "ut vivat", Junius & Tremellius, Vitringa. "; spiritually and eternally. There must be life before hearing; men must be made alive before they can come to Christ spiritually, or hear his... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 55:4

Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people ,.... That is, the Messiah, as Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech rightly interpret it. This respects an act past in eternity, in God's eternal purposes and decrees, when he appointed Christ to the office of a Mediator; and this was an act of his grace, a free gift of his, flowing from his love to his people, both Jews and Gentiles, even all his elect, to whom Christ is a "witness", both of his father and of himself: of his father, of his... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 55:5

Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not ,.... And even nations, as in the next clause; not all the individuals of them, though the Gospel is sent to all nations; and in the latter day the kingdoms of this world shall be the Lord's, and all nations shall serve him. It denotes a great concourse of people to Christ, even such as were not known by him: he knows all mankind as he is the omniscient God, and especially them that are his, these he has a special and peculiar knowledge... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 55:6

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found ,.... The Lord is to be sought unto at all times, whenever the people of God meet together, especially on sabbath days, and while the external ministry of the word lasts, and life itself; so the Targum, "seek the fear of the Lord, while ye are alive.' Kimchi compares it with Ecclesiastes 9:10 . The Jewish writers, as Aben Ezra and others, generally interpret it before the sealing of the decree, or before the decree is gone forth. It may be... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 55:7

Let the wicked forsake his way ,.... His evil way, as the Targum paraphrases it, his wicked course of life; and which is his own way, of his own choosing, and in which he delights, and a very dangerous one it is; and yet he is bent upon it, and nothing can turn him from it but efficacious grace; nor will he ever forsake it till he sees the evil, danger, and loathsomeness of it; and when he does forsake it, it is so as not to make sin the course of his life, though he does not and cannot live... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 55:8

For my thoughts are not your thoughts ,.... In some things there may be a likeness between the thoughts of God and the thoughts of men, as to the nature of them: thoughts are natural and essential to them both; they are within them, are internal acts, and unknown to others, till made known; but then the thoughts of men are finite and limited, whereas the thoughts of the Lord are infinite and boundless; men's thoughts have a beginning, but the Lord's have none; though not so much the nature... read more

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