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But I said - The prophet speaks in the person of the inhabitants of the land still remaining there, who should be pursued by Divine vengeance, and suffer repeated distresses from the inroads and depredations of their powerful enemies. Agreeably to what he said before in a general denunciation of these calamities: -
"Though there be a tenth part remaining in it;
Even this shall undergo a repeated destruction."
Isaiah 6:13; (note). See the note there. - L.
My leanness, my leanness - Or, my secret; so the Vulgate, Montanus, and my old MS; רזן razan has this meaning in Chaldee; but in Hebrew it signifies to make lean, to waste. This sentence in the Hebrew has a strange connection of uncouth sounds: בגרו בגדים ובגד בגדו בוגדים לי אוי לי רזי לי רזי ואמר Vaomer, razi li razi li, oi li, bogedim bagadu, ubeged bogedim bagadu . This may be equalled by the translation in my Old MS. Bible: And I seide, my priveye thinge to me: my priveye thinge to me: woo to me: The lawe breykynge thei breken: and in lawe brekynge of the overdon thingis, they breken the lawe.
The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously "The plunderers plunder" - See note on Isaiah 21:2.
From the uttermost part of the earth - The word ‹earth‘ here seems to be taken in its usual sense, and to denote countries without the bounds of Palestine, and the phrase is equivalent to remote regions or distant countries (see the note at Isaiah 11:12). The prophet here represents himself as hearing those songs from distant lands as a grand chorus, the sound of which came in upon and pervaded Palestine. The worship of God would be still continued, though the temple should be destroyed, the inhabitants of the land dispersed, and the land of Judea be a widespread desolation. Amidst the general wreck and woe, it was some consolation that the worship of Yahweh was celebrated anywhere.
Have we heard songs - Or, we do hear songs. The distant celebrations of the goodness of God break on the ear, and amidst the general calamity these songs of the scattered people of God comfort the heart.
Glory to the righteous - This is the burden and substance of those songs. Their general import and design is, to show that there shall be honor to the people of God. They are now afflicted and scattered. Their temple is destroyed, their land waste, and ruin spreads over the graves of their fathers. Yet amidst these desolations, their confidence in God is unshaken; their reliance on him is firm. They still believe that there shall be honor and glory to the just, and that God will be their protector and avenger. These assurances served to sustain them in their afflictions, and to shed a mild and cheering influence on their saddened hearts.
But I said - But I, the prophet, am constrained to say. This the prophet says respecting himself, viewing himself as left in the land of Canaan; or more probably he personifies, in this declaration, Jerusalem, and the inhabitants of the land that still remained there. The songs that came in from distant lands; the echoing praises from the exiles in the east and the west seeming to meet and mingle over Judea, only served to render the abounding desolation more manifest and distressing. Those distant praises recalled the solemn services of the temple, and the happiness of other times, and led each one of those remaining, who witnessed the desolations, to exclaim, ‹my leanness.‘
My leanness, my leanness - The language of Jerusalem, and the land of Judea. This language expresses calamity. The loss of flesh is emblematic of a condition of poverty, want, and wretchedness - as sickness and affliction waste away the flesh, and take away the strength; Psalm 109:24:
My knees are weak through fasting,
And my flesh faileth of fatness.
By reason of the voice of my groaning
My bones cleave to my flesh.
See also Job 6:12; Job 19:20; Lamentations 3:4. Leanness is also put to denote the displeasure of God, in Psalm 106:15:
And he gave them their request;
But sent leanness into their soul.
Compare Isaiah 10:16.
The treacherous dealers - The foreign nations that disregard covenants and laws; that pursue their object by deceit, and stratagem, and fraud. Most conquests are made by what are called the stratagems of war; that is, by a course of perfidy and deception. There can be no doubt that the usual mode of conquest was pursued in regard to Jerusalem. This whole clause is exceedingly emphatic. The word implying treachery (בגד bâgad ) is repeated no less than five times in various forms in this single clause, and shows how strongly the idea had taken possession of the mind of the prophet. The passage furnishes one of the most remarkable examples of the “paronomasia” occurring in the Bible. בגדוּ בגדים בגדוּ וּבגד בוגדים bâgâdû bogidiym bâgâdû ûbeged bôgediym In fact, this figure abounds so much in this chapter that Gesenius contends that it is not the production of Isaiah, but a composition belonging to a later and less elegant period of Hebrew literature.
I looked to see who of those who professed to be looking for Christ's coming possessed a willingness to sacrifice offerings to God of their abundance. I could see a few humble poor ones who, like the poor widow, were stinting themselves and casting in their mite. Every such offering is accounted of God as precious treasure. But those who are acquiring means, and adding to their possessions, are far behind. They do comparatively nothing to what they might. They are withholding, and robbing God, for they are fearful they shall come to want. They dare not trust God. This is one of the reasons that, as a people, we are so sickly and so many are falling into their graves. The covetous are among us. Lovers of the world, also those who have stinted the laborer in his hire, are among us. Men who had none of this world, who were poor and dependent on their labor, have been dealt with closely and unjustly. The lover of the world, with a hard face and harder heart, has grudgingly paid over the small sum earned by hard toil. Just so they are dealing with their Master, whose servants they profess to be. Just in this grudging manner do they put into the treasury of God. The man in the parable had not where to bestow his goods, and the Lord cut short his unprofitable life. So will He deal with many. How difficult, in this corrupt age, to keep from growing worldly and selfish. How easy to become ungrateful to the Giver of all our mercies. Great watchfulness is needed, and much prayer, to keep the soul with all diligence. “Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.” 2T 198.1
Read in context »Brother F, you do not honor your profession. Your zeal is a worldly zeal, your interest a worldly interest. You are dying spiritually. You understand not your perilous condition. The love of the world is swallowing up your religion. You must awake; you must seek God and repent of your backslidings. In contrition take words and return to the Lord. Your religious duties have become merely a form. You do not enjoy religion; for this enjoyment is dependent upon willing obedience. The willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land. You do not possess a bright evidence that you will dwell with God in His kingdom. You occasionally engage in the outward performance of religious duties, but your heart is not in the exercise. You occasionally drop a word of warning to sinners, or a word in favor of the truth; but it is a reluctant service, as though rendered to a taskmaster, instead of the cheerful service of filial affection. If your heart is aglow with Christian zeal, the most arduous duties will be pleasant and easy. 2T 234.1
Why the Christian life is so difficult to many is that they have a divided heart. They are double-minded, which makes them unstable in all their ways. Were they richly imbued with Christian zeal, which is ever the result of consecration to God, instead of the mournful cry, “My leanness, my leanness,” the language of the soul would be: “Hear what the Lord has done for me.” Even if you are saved, which is very doubtful, in the course you are pursuing, how limited will be the good you have accomplished. Not a soul will be saved by your instrumentality. Will the Master say to you: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant”? What have you been doing faithfully? Hard work in the business and cares of this life. Will this bring from the lips of Christ the gracious words: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant”? 2T 234.2
My brother, Jesus loves you, and He invites you to face rightabout, and take your eyes from the earth, and fix them upon the mark for the prize of your high calling, which is in Christ Jesus. Cease lightness and trifling. Let a solemn weight of the time in which we live be borne by you till the war is over. Go to work; if consecrated to God, your influence will tell. 2T 235.1
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