CHAPTER 44
"...though we have often looked into the things of God, they will yet bear to be looked over again"
"The lessons we have learned we should still repeat to ourselves.  Every time we review the sacred fabric of holy things, which we have in the scriptures, we shall still find something new which we did not before take notice of."
"...he sees the house filled with the glory of the Lord, which strikes an awe upon him, so that he falls prostrate at the sight, the humblest posture of adoration & the expression of a holy awe"
"The more we see of the glory of God the more low we shall lie in our own eyes."
"Those who are appointed to be teachers have need to be very diligent careful learners, that they may neither forget any of the things they are entrusted with nor mistake concerning them."
"It is time for those that have continued long in sin to reckon it long enough, & too long, & to begin to think of taking up in time, & leaving off their evil courses."
"...those who have robbed God of his honour will justly be deprived of their honour."
"Those who have been faithful are honoured & established."
"God will put marks of honour upon those who give proofs of their fidelity & constancy to him in shaking trying times, & will employ those in his service who have kept close to his service when others deserted it & drew back."
"If we keep close to God, God will keep us close to him."
"They shall teach my people the difference between the holy & the profane, between good & evil, lawful & unlawful"
"Ministers must decide controversies according to the word of God"
"Those who have God for their inheritance & their possession may be content with a little, & ought not to covet a great deal of the possessions & inheritances of this earth.  If we have God, we have all; & therefore may well reckon that we have enough."
"It is all in all to the comfort of any house to have the blessing of God upon it & to have the blessing to rest in it"

CHAPTER 45
"Whatever our substance is we must honour God with it, by giving him his dues out of it."
"Those that worship God together should often join in renewing their repentance for their manifold defects, & applying the blood of Christ for the pardon of them"

CHAPTER 46
"Great men should, by their constant & reverent attendance on God in public worship, give a good example to their inferiors, both engaging them & encouraging them to do likewise."
"Christians, who are to present themselves to God as living sacrifices, should aim & endeavour to be - blameless, & harmless, & without rebuke."
"Ministers must take heed of doing any thing to bolster up ignorant people in their superstitious vanities."

CHAPTER 47
"The gifts of the Spirit increase by being exercised, & grace, where it is true, is growing, like the light of the morning, which shines more & more to the perfect day."
"It is good to be often searching into the things of God, & trying the depth of them, not only to look on the surface of those waters, but to go to the bottom of them as far as we can, to be often digging, often diving, into the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, as those who covet to be intimately acquainted with those things."
"The grace of God makes dead sinners alive & living saints lively; every thing is made fruitful & flourishing by it."
"Those that will not be watered with the grace of God, & made fruitful, shall be abandoned to their own hearts' lusts, & left for ever unfruitful."
"Gospel-grace makes those persons & places which were unprofitable & good for nothing to become serviceable to God & man."
"It is God that appoints the bounds of our habitation"
Matthew Henry's Commentary:  Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 994 - 1011.

CHAPTER 40
"...it is through Christ that we have both acquaintance with & access to the benefits & privileges of God's house."
"What we see of the works of God, & what we hear of the word of God , will do us no good unless we set our hearts upon it, as those that reckon ourselves nearly concerned in it, & expect advantage to our souls by it."
"Those who are to preach God's word to others ought to study it well themselves & set their hearts upon it."
"Some draw nearer to God than others & have a more intimate acquaintance with divine things; but to a child of God a day in any of his courts is better than a thousand elsewhere."
"Those that do the work of his (God's) house shall enjoy the comforts of it."
"Christ is both our altar & our sacrifice, to whom we must look with an eye of faith in all our approaches to God, & he is salvation in the midst of the church (Psalms 74:12), to be looked unto from all quarters."

CHAPTER 41
"The higher we build up ourselves in our most holy faith the more should our hearts, those living temples, be enlarged."
"...the living temples are adorned, not with gold, or silver, or costly array, but with the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible."

CHAPTER 42
"We must not only worship in the courts of God's house, but must, both before & after our attendance there, enter into our chambers, enter into our closets, & read & meditate, & pray to our Father in secret; & a great deal of comfort the people of God have found in their communion with God in solitude."
"Those that have public work to do for God & the souls of men have need to be much in private, to fit themselves for it.  Ministers should spend much time in their chambers, in reading, meditation & prayer, that their profiting may appear"
"A difference is to be put between common & sacred things, between God's name & other names, between his day & other days, his book & other books, his institutions & other observances"

CHAPTER 43
"The idols of the heathen have no glory but what they owe to the goldsmith or the painter"
"Christ's gospel, in the glory of which he shines, as to be proclaimed aloud, the report of it to be heard far:  to some it is a savour of life, to others of death, according as they are."
"...God's glory filled the house as it had filled the tabernacle which Moses set up & the temple of Solomon, Exodus 40:34; I Kings 8:10."
"Here is no mention of a cloud filling the house as formerly, for we now with open face behold the glory of the Lord, in the face of Christ, & not as of old through the cloud of types."
"See what an indignity sinners do to God, setting up their walls in opposition to his, & thrusting him out from what is his right; & see what injury they do to themselves, for the nearer any come to God with their sins the further they set him at a distance from them."
"Those that pollute God's holy name fall under his just displeasure."
"The goodness of God to us should lead us to repentance, especially to a penitential shame."
"...with the privileges of God's house we must acquaint ourselves with the rules of it."
"Therefore we are made to know our duty, that we may do it, & be blessed in our deed."
"God secures to us his good-will by confirming in us his good work.  If we do not defile his name, we may be sure that he will not depart from us."
"Neither our persons nor our performances can be acceptable to God unless sin be taken away, & they cannot be taken away but by the blood of Christ"
"Before we minister to the Lord in holy things we must consecrate ourselves by getting our hands & hearts filled with those things."
"...if God now accept our works, if our services be pleasing to  him, it is enough, we need no more.  Those that give themselves to God shall be accepted of God, their persons first & then their performances, through the Mediator."
Matthew Henry's Commentary:  Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 980 - 994.

CHAPTER 36
"There are some who are noted for talkers, that have something to say of every body, but cannot find in their hearts to speak well of any body"
"Increasing wealth, by right or wrong, is all the joy of a worldly heart"
"The righteous God, to whom vengeance belongs, will render shame for shame.  Those that put contempt & reproach upon God's people will, sooner or later, have it turned upon themselves"
"It is a blessing to the earth, to be made serviceable to men, especially to good men, that will serve God with cheerfulness in the use of those good things which the earth serves up to them."
"Their own sin had unsettled them, but now God's favour shall resettle them."
"When God returns in mercy to a people that return to him in duty, all their grievances will be soon redressed & their honour retrieved."
"The sin of a people defiles their land, renders it abominable to God, & uncomfortable to themselves"
"Sin is that abominable thing which the Lord hates, & which he cannot endure to look upon."
"God will magnify his name as a holy name, for he will sanctify it:  I will sanctify my name which you have profaned.  When God performs that which he has sworn by his holiness, then he sanctifies his name."  "The heathen shall know that I am the Lord when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes & yours."
"We cannot sanctify God's name unless he sanctify our hearts, nor live to his glory, but by his grace."
"All that have an interest in the new covenant, & a title to the new Jerusalem, have a new heart & a new spirit, & these are necessary in order to their walking in newness of life."
"God does not force men to walk in his statutes by external violence, but causes them to walk in his statutes by an internal principle."
"God's promises must drive us to his precepts as our rule, & then his precepts must send us back to his promises for strength, for without his grace we can do nothing."
"Even promised mercies must be laboured for; for the promise is not to supersede, but to quicken & encourage our industry & endeavour."
"Self-love is at the bottom of sin, which we cannot but blush to see the absurdity of"
"The goodness of God should overcome our badness & lead us to repentance.  The more we see of God's readiness to receive us unto favour upon our repentance the more reason we shall see to be ashamed of ourselves that we could ever sin against so much love."
"They must own that the mercies they receive from God are not only not merited, but that they are a thousand times forfeited; & therefore they must be so far from boasting of their good works that they must be ashamed & confounded for their evil ways, & then they are best prepared for mercy."
"What is the matter of God's promises must be the matter of our prayers."
"Our communion with God must be kept up by the word & prayer in all the operations of his providence concerning us & in both he must be enquired of."

CHAPTER 37
"God is perfectly acquainted with his own power & his own purposes, & will have us to refer all to them, & to see & own that his wondrous works are such as could not be effected by any counsel or power but his own."
"Ezekiel...  ...[1.] He must preach, & he did so; & the dead bones lived by a power that went along with the word of God which he preached.  [2.] He must pray, & he did so; & the dead bones were made to live in answer to prayer; for  a spirit of life entered into them.  See the efficacy of the word & prayer, & the necessity of both, for the raising of dead souls."
"...we must discharge our trust, must prophesy as we are commanded, in the name of him who raises the dead & is the fountain of life."
"...the spirit of life is from God; he at first in the creation breathed into man the breath of life, & so he will at last in the resurrection."
"With God nothing is impossible.  He can out of stones raise up children unto Abraham & out of dead & dry bones levy an exceedingly great army to fight his battles & plead his cause."
"God can bring his people up from the depths of the earth, Psalms 71:20."
"Then God puts spirit in us to good purpose, & so that we shall indeed live, when he puts his Spirit in us."
"Those are best united that are one in God's hand whose union with each other results from their union with Christ & their communion with God through him.  Ephesians 1:10."
​"All believers unite in one Lord, one faith, & one baptism."
"It is our wisdom to avoid the places where we have been overcome by temptations to sin, not to remain in them, or return to them, but to save ourselves out of them, as we would out of infected places; see Zechariah 2:7; Revelation 18:4."
"Those whom God has cleansed he will keep clean."
"God's covenant with them shall be an everlasting covenant; so the covenant of grace is, for it secures to us an everlasting happiness."
"God designs the sanctification of those among whom he sets up his sanctuary.  And blessed & holy are those who, enjoying the privileges of the sanctuary, give such proofs & evidences of their sanctification that the heathen may know it is no less than the almighty grace of God that sanctifies them."

CHAPTER 38
"God does not only see those that are now the enemies of his church & set himself against them, but he foresees those that will be so & lets them know by his word that he is against them too, & yet is pleased to make use of them to serve his own purposes, for the glory of his own name; surely their wrath shall praise him, & the remainder thereof he will restrain.  Psalms 76:10."
"All the mischief men do, & particularly the mischief they do to the church of God, arises from evil thoughts that come into their mind, ambitious thoughts, covetous thoughts, spiteful thoughts against those that are good, for the sake of their goodness."
"God brings his people into danger & distress that he may have the honour of bringing about their deliverance, & suffers the enemies of his church to prevail awhile, though they profane his name by their sin, that he may have the honour of prevailing at last & sanctifying his own name in their ruin."
"There is an amiable admirable harmony & agreement between the Lord's prophets, though they lived in several ages, for they were all guided by one & the same Spirit."
"God can, & often does, make the destroyers of his people to be their own destroyers & the destroyers of one another."
"In the destruction of sinners, God makes it to appear that he is a great & holy God, & he will do so to eternity.  And, if men do not magnify & sanctify him as they ought, he will magnify himself, & sanctify himself; & this we should desire & pray for daily, Father, glorify thy own name."

CHAPTER 39
"Those that cast in their lot among wicked people (Proverbs 1:14), that they may have one purse with them, must expect to take their lot with them, & fare as they fare, taking the worse with the better."
"Those who invade other people's rights justly lose their own.  4. God will by all this advance the honour of his own name."
"Those that rightly know God's holy name will not dare to profane it; for it is through ignorance of it that men make light of it & make bold with it."
"Every one should contribute the utmost he can in his place towards the cleansing of the land from the pollutions of it, & from every thing that is a reproach to it.  Sin is a common enemy, which every man should take up arms against."
"When good work is to be done every one should lend a hand to further it"
"If God evidence to us that he is our God he assures us that he will never leave us.  This God is our God for ever and ever."
"...God punishes sin even in his own people, because he hates it most in those that are nearest & dearest to him, Amos 3:2."
"When sinners repent, & take shame to themselves, God will be reconciled & put honour upon them."
"The providences of God concerning his people, that are designed for their good, have the grace of God going along with them to teach them to eye God as the Lord, & their God, in all; & then they do them good.  They shall eye him as the Lord & their God."
"The indwelling of the Spirit is an infallible pledge of the continuance of God's favour.  He will hide his face no more from those on whom he has poured out his Spirit.  When therefore we pray that God would never cast us away from his presence we must as earnestly pray that, in order to that, he would never take his Holy Spirit away from us, Psalms 51:11."
Matthew Henry's Commentary:  Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 957 - 980.

CHAPTER 32
"Ministers that would affect others with the things of God must make it appear that they are themselves affected with the miseries which sinners bring upon themselves by their sins.  It becomes us to weep & tremble for those that will not weep & tremble for themselves."
"A great deal of disquiet is often given to the world by the restless ambition & implacable resentments of proud princes."
"He that has troubled others must expect to be himself troubled; for the Lord is righteous, Joshua 7:25."
"Those that admire with complacency the pomp of this world will admire with consternation the ruin of that pomp."
"When the sword of God's justice is drawn against some, to cut them off, it is thereby brandished before others, to give them warning."
"In renouncing the pomps of this world, we did ourselves a great kindness, for they are things that are soon spoiled & that cheat their admirers."
"Those, Christ's enemies, that would not have him to reign over them, shall be brought forth & slain before him, though they be as pompous, though they be as numerous as Pharaoh & all his multitude."

CHAPTER 33
"...the watchman  ...His business is (1.) To discover the approaches & advances of the enemy; & therefore he must not be blind nor asleep, for then he cannot see the sword coming.  (2.) To give notice of them immediately by sound of trumpet, or, as sentinels among us, by the discharge of a gun, as a signal of danger."
"...if the watchman do his part, & the people do theirs, all is well; both he that gives warning, & he that takes warning have delivered their souls."
"His business as a watchman is to give warning to sinners of their misery & danger by reason of sin."
"The blind leader shall fall with the blind follower into the ditch."
"It is very common for those that have been hardened with presumption when they were warned against sin to sink into despair when they are called to repent, & to conclude there is no hope of life for them."
"He (God) would rather sinners should turn & live than go on & die."
"It is certain that God is sincere & in earnest in the calls he gives sinners to repent; Turn you, turn you, from your evil way."
"If righteous men turn to iniquity, & return not to their righteousness, they shall certainly perish in their iniquity, & all the righteousness they have formerly done, all their prayers, & all their alms, shall be forgotten."
"How can those expect the inheritance of Isaac (as these did) who are of Ishmael's disposition, that had his hand against every man (Genesis 16:12)."
"Those cannot expect to possess the land, nor to enjoy any true comfort or happiness here or hereafter, who live in rebellion against the Lord."
"...God takes notice of all that is said against his ministers"
"Hypocrites mock God & mock his prophets."
"Covetousness is the ruining sin of multitudes that make a great profession of (faith); it is the love of the world that secretly eats the love of God out of their hearts."
"There are many who take pleasure in hearing the word, but make no conscience of doing it; & so they build upon the sand, & deceive themselves."

CHAPTER 34
​"...the shepherds  ...God's controversy with them; ...1. That all their care was to advance & enrich themselves & to make themselves great."  "2.  That they took no care for the benefit & welfare of those that were committed to their charge; You feed not the flock."
"Those that do not do the work of shepherds are unworthy of the name."
"It is ill with the patient when his physician is his worst disease, ill with the flock when the shepherds drive them away & disperse them, by ruining them with force."
"Those that will not hear the word of the Lord giving them their direction shall be made to hear the word of the Lord reading them their doom."
"Those will have a great deal to answer for in the judgment-day who take upon them the care of souls & yet take no care of them.  Ministers must watch & work as those that must give account, Hebrews 13:17."
"It is just with God to take out of men's hands that power which they have abused & that trust which have betrayed."
"The under-shepherds may prove careless, but the Chief Shepherd neither slumbers nor sleeps.  They may be false, but God abides faithful."
"If ministers, who should speak peace to those who are of a sorrowful spirit, neglect their duty, yet the Holy Ghost the Comforter will be faithful to his office."
"It is a barbarous thing to add affliction to the afflicted."
"If we take God to be our God, he will take us to be his people."
"Those may lay down & sleep securely, sleep at ease, that have Christ for their prince; for he will be their protector, & make them to dwell in safety."
"Those that are the blessed of the Lord must study to make themselves blessings to the world."

CHAPTER 35
"Children will be more apt to imitate the vices than the virtues of their parents..."
"Parents should therefore be careful not to set their children any bad example..."
"Those that do not keep up a rooted hatred of sin, when a temptation to it is very strong, will be in danger of yielding to it."
"Those that have a perpetual enmity to God & his people, as carnal mind has, can expect no other than to be made a perpetual desolation."
"Those who, instead of weeping with the mourners, make a jest of their grievances, may justly be made to weep like the mourners, & themselves to feel the weight, to feel the smart of those grievances which they set so light by."
"Those that are glad at the death & fall of others may expect that others will be glad of their death, of their fall."
"The Lord is & will be known by the judgments which he executes."
Matthew Henry's Commentary:  Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 933 - 957.

CHAPTER 28
"Tyrus...  God resists the proud."
"He thought himself to have as much wisdom & strength as God himself, & as incontestable an authority, & that his prerogatives were as absolute & his word as much a law as the word of God."
"Men must be made to know that they are but men.  Psalms 9:20."
"Jesus Christ was both God & man."
"It was the ruin of our first parents, & ours in them, that they would be as gods.  Genesis 3:5."
"Knowledge puffeth up:  it is hard to know much & not to know it too well & to be elevated with it."
"Those therefore that are knowing must study to be humble & to evidence that they are so."
"It is just with God that our enemies should make that their prey which we have made our pride."
"Many expositors have suggested that besides the literal sense of this lamentation there is an allegory in it, & that it is an allusion to the fall of the angels that sinned, who undid themselves by their pride."
"Those that have much to do in the world are in great danger of doing much amiss"
"All God's judgments upon sinners take rise from themselves; they are devoured by a fire of their own kindling."
"When God is sanctified he is glorified, for his holiness is his glory; & those whom he is not sanctified & glorified by he will be sanctified & glorified upon, by executing judgments upon them, which declare him a just avenger of his own & his people's injured honour."
"It is God that judges, & he will overcome."
"God will be glorified in the restoration of his people to their former safety & prosperity."
"...God will now both cure them of their sins & ease them of their iniquities & so will be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, will recover the honour of his holiness, to the satisfaction of all the world."
"...the full accomplishment of this promise is reserved for the heavenly Canaan, when all the saints shall be gathered together, & every thing that offends shall be removed, & all griefs & fears for ever banished."​

CHAPTER 29
"How high soever the princes & potentates of the earth are, there is a higher than they (Ecclesiastes 5:8), a God above them, that can control them, &, if they be tyrannical & oppressive, a God against them, that will be free to reckon with them."
"Worldly carnal minds please themselves with, & pride themselves in, their property, forgetting that whatever we have we only have the use of it, the property is in God.  We ourselves are not our own, but his."
"He only that is the great Creator can say of this world, & of everything in it, I have made it for myself."
"Self is the great idol that all the world worships, in contempt of God & his sovereignty."
"Those who abuse their power will justly be stripped of it:  & God, as King of nations, will find out a way to maintain the injured rights & liberties, not only of his own, but of other nations."
"Even great men & bad men are tools that God makes use of & are working for him even when they are pursuing their own covetous & ambitious designs; so wonderfully does God overrule all to his own glory."
"It bodes well to a people when God enlarges the liberties of his ministers & they are countenanced & encouraged in their work."

CHAPTER 30
"What can protect a provoking people when the righteous God comes forth to contend with them?"
"Those that deceive others are commonly paid in their own coin; they are themselves deceived."
"When he pours out his fury upon a place, when he sets fire to it, (v. 15, 16), neither its strength nor its multitude can stand it in any stead."
"God can strike a terror upon those that are most secure; fearfulness shall, when he pleases, surprise the most presumptuous hypocrites."
"The Lord is known by the judgments which he executes."
"If less judgments do not prevail to humble & reform sinners, God will send greater."

CHAPTER 31
"The falls of others, both into sin & ruin, are intended as admonitions to us not to be secure or high-minded, nor to think we stand out of danger."
"Those who have power ought to use it for the protection & comfort of those whom they have power over; for to that end, they are entrusted with power."
"When men's outward condition rises their minds commonly rise with it; & it is very rare to find a humble spirit in the midst of great advancements."
"God is the judge, who puts down one, & sets up another (Psalms 75:7)"
"When great men fall, a great many fall with them, as a great many in like manner have fallen before them."
"The fall of proud presumptuous men is intended for warning to others to keep humble.  It would have been well for Nebuchadnezzar, who was himself active in bringing down the Assyrian, if he had taken the admonition."
"Great men & great multitudes, with the great figure & great noise they make in the world, when God comes to contend with them, will soon become little, less than nothing, like Pharaoh & all his multitude."
Matthew Henry's Commentary:  Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 915 - 932.

CHAPTER 24
"As all times, so all places, even the most remote, are present with God & under his view."
"Known unto God are all his works."
"A rebellious house will soon be a ruinous house."
"It is fit that those who sin before all should be rebuked before all"
"Those that follow after lying vanities weary themselves with the pursuit."
"We may the more easily bear an affliction if it find us in the way of our duty; for nothing can hurt us, nothing come amiss to us, while we keep ourselves in the love of God."
"Our dispositions must always submit to God's directions, & his command must be obeyed even in that which is most difficult & displeasing to us."
"The removal of the comforts of others should awaken us to think of parting with ours too, for are we better than they?"
"Those who regard not the threatenings of the word when they are preached will be made to remember them when they are executed."
"Carnal people set their minds upon that on which they can set their eyes; they look at, & dote upon, the things that are seen; & it is their folly to set their minds upon that which they have no assurance of & which may be taken from them in a moment.  Proverbs 23:5."

CHAPTER 25
"Those are miserable that have the preaching & praying of God's prophets against them, against whom their faces are set."
"The people of God have always had a great deal of ill-will borne them by this wicked world"
"It is a very wicked thing to be glad at the calamities of any, especially of God's people, & a sin that God will surely reckon for"
"God is jealous for his people's honour; because his own is so nearly interested in it."
"Better know God & be poor than be rich & ignorant of him."
"Those who glory in any other defence & protection than that of the divine power, providence & promise, will sooner or later see cause to be ashamed of their glorying."
"We are forbidden to revenge or to bear a grudge."
"Those that will not leave it to God to take vengeance for them may expect that he will take vengeance on them; & those that will not believe & fear his vengeance shall be made to know & feel his vengeance"

CHAPTER 26
"Those that have God against them may expect all the creatures against them; for what peace can those have with whom God is at war?"
"Those who know their strength are too apt to cause terror, to pride themselves in frightening those they are an over-match for."
"It is just with God to make those a terror to their neighbours, by the suddenness & strangeness of their punishment, who make themselves a terror to their neighbours by the abuse of their power."
"The fall of others should awaken us out of our security."
"Where living sacrifices are offered to the living God, & where the lively oracles are, there the land of the living is; there David hoped to see the goodness of the Lord.  Psalms 27:13."
"God will himself be the glory of the lands that are the lands of the living."

CHAPTER 27
"We ought to mourn for the miseries of other nations, as well as for our own, out of an affection for mankind in general"
"God takes notice of the vain conceits men have of themselves in their prosperity"
"...God's eye is upon men  ...he takes cognizance of what they do when they are employed in their worldly business, not only when they are at church, praying & hearing, but when they are in their markets & fairs, & upon the exchange, buying & selling, which is a good reason why we should in all our dealings keep a conscience void of offence, & have our eye always upon him whose eye is always upon us."
"It is ill with a people when those that sit at the stern, instead of putting them into the harbour, run them aground."
"Loses & crosses are very grievous, & hard to be borne, to those that have long been wallowing in pleasure & sleeping in carnal security."
Matthew Henry's Commentary:  Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 895 - 915.

CHAPTER 20
"A hypocritical attendance on God & his ordinances is so far from being pleasing to him that it is provoking."
"As the foundation of our blessedness is laid in God's choosing us, so the first step towards it is God's making himself known to us."
"They rebelled against God, not only refused to comply with his particular precepts, but shook off their allegiance, & in effect told him that they would be at liberty to worship what God they pleased."
"It is better to be at liberty in a wilderness than bond-slaves in a land of plenty, to enjoy God & ourselves in solitude than to lose both in a crowd"
"...it is the Lord that sanctifies us, makes us holy (that is, truly happy) here, & prepares us to be happy (that is, perfectly holy) hereafter."
"The bias of the mind towards the world & the flesh, the money & the belly (those 2 great objects of spiritual idolatry), is the root of bitterness from which springs all disobedience to the divine law.  The heart that goes after those idols despises God's judgments."
"It is owing purely to the mercy of God that he has not long ago made an end of us."
"...the bad examples of parents must be made use of by their children for admonition, & not for imitation."
"...those who will not live & flourish as they might in their obedience should die & perish in their disobedience."
"Those that will not be bound by the precepts of the law shall be bound by the sentence of it"
"God sometimes makes sin to be its own punishment, & yet is not the author of sin; & there needs no more to make men miserable than to give them up to their own vile appetites & passions."
"Those who will not acknowledge God as the Lord their ruler shall be made to acknowledge him as the Lord their judge when it is too late."
"It is a great aggravation of sin when men will not take warning by the mischievous consequences of sin in those that have gone before them; this is blaspheming God."
"It is only integrity & uprightness that will preserve men, & recommend them to God & man."
"There is no shaking off God's dominion; rule he will, either with the golden sceptre or with the iron rod; & those that will not yield to the power of his grace shall be made to sink under the power of his wrath."
"...there will come a distinguishing day, when God will separate between the precious & the vile"
"Those who think to serve themselves by sin will find in the end that they have but enslaved themselves to sin."
"All the favours we receive from God should lead us into a more intimate acquaintance with him."
"Those that should have been as the garden of the Lord, & his vineyard, had become like a forest, all overgrown with briers & thorns; & those that are so, that bring not forth the fruits of righteousness, God's word prophesies against."
"When God will ruin a nation, who or what can save it?"
"It is a comfort to us, when people speak ill of us unjustly, that we have a God to complain to."

CHAPTER 21
​"When we speak to people about their souls we should study plainness, & express ourselves as we may be the best understood."
"Ministers, if they would affect others with the things they speak of, must show that they are themselves in the greatest sincerity affected with them, & must submit to that which may create uneasiness to themselves, so that it will promote the ends of their ministry."
"Those who have God for them when flesh & heart fail have him to be the strength of their heart"
"While good men are quiet, not only from evil, but from the fear of it, wicked men are disturbed not only with the sword, but with the terrors of it, arising from a consciousness of their own guilt."
"Ruin comes gradually, but at last comes effectually, upon a provoking people."
"Should we now make mirth, when the hand of God has gone out against us, when God's judgments are abroad in the land & be by them calls to weeping & mourning?  Isaiah 22:11, 13
"God remembers former iniquities against those only who by the present discoveries of their wickedness show that they do not repent of them."
"Those who will not be taken with the word of God's grace shall at last be taken by the hand of his wrath."
"Though those who are wicked & profane may flourish awhile, yet their day will come to fall."
"Men lose their dignity by their iniquity."
"Those that feed themselves with a self-conceit in the day of their prosperity prepare matter for a self-reproach in the day of their calamity."
"Wicked men make themselves fuel to the fire of God's wrath; they are consumed by it, & it is inflamed by them."

CHAPTER 22
​"Sinners do that which provokes God because they forget him; they forget their descent from him, dependence on him, & obligations to him; they forget how valuable his favour is, which they make themselves unfit for, & how formidable his wrath, which they make themselves obnoxious to."
"There is a day coming when God will deal with sinners, a day of visitation."
"Those that resolve to be their own masters, let them expect no other comfort & happiness than what their own hands can furnish them with, & a miserable portion it will prove."
"Sinners, & especially degenerate professors, are in God's account as dross, vile, & contemptible, & of no account, as the evil figs which could not be eaten, they were so evil.  They are useless & fit for nothing; of no consistency with themselves & no service to man."
"Those who draw men to wickedness, & encourage them in it, are the devourers & murderers of their souls."
"The profanation of the honour of the scriptures...  is a profanation of the honour of God himself, who is interested in them."
"There is a way of standing in the gap, & making up the breach against the judgments of God, by repentance, & prayer, & reformation."
"When God is coming forth against a sinful people to destroy them he expects some to intercede for them, & enquires if there be but one that does; so much is it his desire & delight to show mercy."

CHAPTER 23
​"To convince sinners of the evil of sin, & of their misery & danger by reason of it, there is need of line upon line"
"Those who have been in profession the people of God, but have revolted from him, have a great deal to answer for more than those who never made any such profession."
"The devil will for ever be a tormentor of those impenitent sinners who now hearken to him & comply with him as a tempter."
"Those may justly expect God's judgments upon themselves who do not take warning by his judgments upon others, who see in others what is the end of sin & yet continue to make a light matter of it."
"Those who, instead of reflecting upon their former sins with sorrow & shame, reflect upon them with pleasure & pride...  in effect bid defiance to repentance."
"Sin alienates God's mind from the sinner, & justly, for it is the alienation of the sinner's mind from God; but woe, & a thousand woes, to those from whom God's mind is alienated; for whom he turns from he will turn against."
"If men deal ever so hatefully, ever so furiously, with us, yet, if we have God on our side, we need not fear them; they can do us no real hurt."
"When God is about to ruin a people he makes their judges fools & pours contempt on their princes"
"Forgetfulness of God, & a contempt of him, of his eye upon us & authority over us, are at the bottom of all our treacherous adulterous departures from him."
"Those hearts go a whoring from God that take a complacency in the pomp of the world & put a confidence in its wealth, & in an arm of flesh.  Jeremiah 17:5."
"Smite the scorner & the simple will beware."
"...God is the Lord   a God that judges in the earth, & with whom there is no respect of persons."
Matthew Henry's Commentary:  Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 862 - 895.

CHAPTER 16
"Sins are not only provocations which God is angry at, but abominations which he hates, as contrary to his nature, & which we ought to hate."
"God took them to be his people, not because he saw any thing in them inviting or promising, but so it seemed good in his sight."
"Those shall live to whom God commands life."
"By converting grace, he says to the soul, Live."
"Those to whom God gives spiritual life he takes into covenant with himself"
"Those whom God takes into covenant with himself are fed with the bread of life, clothed with the robe of righteousness, adorned with the graces & comforts of the spirit."
"Sanctified souls are truly beautiful; they are so in God's sight, & they themselves may take the comfort of it.  But God must have all the glory, for they were by nature deformed & polluted, &, whatever comeliness they have, it is that which God has put upon them & beautified them with, & he will be well pleased with the work of his own hands."
"Their idolatry was the great provoking sin that they were guilty of"
"Abundance of young people are ruined by pride & particularly pride in their beauty"
"...is whoredom, is spiritual whoredom, a small matter?"
"It will be a great matter."
"Those that in sincerity join themselves to the true God find enough in him for their satisfaction; &, though they will desire more of God, yet they never desire more than God.  But those that forsake this living fountain for broken cisterns will find themselves soon surfeited, but never satisfied."
"Those who will not hear the commanding word of the Lord & obey it shall be made to hear the condemning word of the Lord & shall tremble at it."
"When we begin to be at war with sin God will be at peace with us"
"When sin departs God's jealousy will soon depart"
"Pride was the first sin that turned angels into devils, & the garden of the Lord into a hell upon earth."
"Idleness is an inlet to much sin."
"There is nothing in sin which we have more reason to be ashamed of than this, that  by our sin we have encouraged others in sin, & comforted them in that for which they must be grieved or they are undone."
"Those are but preparing judgments for themselves that will not take notice of God's judgments upon others."
"Those that disgrace themselves by yielding to their lusts will justly be brought into disgrace by being made to yield to their enemies"
"Those that will not cast off their sins by repentance & reformation shall be made to bear their sins to their confusion."
"Those that will not adhere to God as their God have no reason to expect that he should continue to own them as his people."
"Those who do as the worst of sinners do must expect to fare as they fear."
"He that bids us to be ever mindful of the covenant no doubt will himself be ever mindful of it"
"God's good-work in us commences & keeps pace with his good-will towards us."
"Those that rightly remember their sins will be truly ashamed of them"
"God is in Jesus Christ pacified towards us; he is our peace, & it is by his cross that we are reconciled, & in his gospel that God is reconciling the world to himself."
"...the more our shame for sin is increased by the sense of pardoning mercy the more will our comfort in God be increased."

CHAPTER 17
"Ministers should study to find out acceptable words & try various methods to do good"
"Nations by sin sell their liberty, & princes their dignity, & profane their crowns by casting them to the ground."
"See how gradually the judgments of god came upon this provoking people, how God gave them respite & so gave them space to repent."
"God can bring great things to pass without much ado.  He needs not great power & many people to effect his purposes; a handful will serve if he pleases."
"Perjury is a heinous sin & highly provoking to the God of heaven."
"Men will justly be forced upon that calamity which they endeavour by sin to flee from."
"Sooner or later God's word will prove itself; & those who will not believe shall find by experiences the reality & weight of it."
"...the unbelief of man shall not invalidate the promise of God."
"...who can pluck up what God will plant?"
"All the enemies of Christ shall be abased & made his footstool, & his interests shall be confirmed & advanced:  I The Lord have spoken it...  & I have done it, that is, I will do it in due time, but it is as sure to be done as if it were done already."
"What he has spoken, we may be sure that he will do, nor shall one iota or tittle of his word fall to the ground, for he is not a man, that he should lie, or the son of man, that he should repent either of his threatenings or of his promises."

CHAPTER 18
​"God does not punish the children for the fathers' sins unless they tread in their fathers' steps & fill up the measure of their iniquity"
"Let us subscribe to his interest in us & dominion over us."
"He that makes conscience of conforming in every thing to the will of God, that makes it his business to serve God & his aim to glorify God, shall without fail be happy here & for ever in the love & favour of God"
"He is careful to keep himself clean from the pollutions of sin, & at a distance from all the appearances of evil."
"It is an essential branch of wisdom & justice to keep the appetites of the body always in subjection to reason & virtue."
"Keep the commandments, & thou shalt enter into life.  Matthew 19:27."
"While we are in this world we are in a state of probation; the time of trial lasts as long as the time of life, & according as we are found at last it will be with us to eternity."
"Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?  No doubt he shall; he cannot do otherwise."
"In all our disputes with God, & in all his controversies with us, it will be found that his ways are equal, but ours are unequal, that he is in the right & we are in the wrong."
"We must repent; we must change our mind & change our ways; we must be sorry for what we have done amiss & ashamed of it, & go as far as we can towards the undoing of it again."
"What an absurd thing it is for you to choose death & damnation rather than life & salvation."
"The God of heaven has no delight in our ruin, but desires our welfare."
"Turn yourselves, & live."

​CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 12
"Faith comes by hearing that word of prophecy which is more sure than vision."
"Those are to be reckoned rebellious that shut their eyes against the divine light & stop their ears to the divine law.  The ignorance of those that are willingly ignorant, that have faculties & means & will not use them, is as far from being their excuse that it adds rebellion to their sin.  None so blind, so deaf, as those that will not see, that will not hear."
"...ministers must be willing to go through the most difficult & inconvenient offices...  If but one soul be awakened to consider, our care & pains will be well bestowed."
"We do all things (that is, we are willing to do any thing), dearly beloved, for your edifying."
"When God has remarkably delivered us from the deaths wherewith we were surrounded we must look upon it that for this, and among others, we were spared, that we might glorify God & edify others by making a penitent acknowledgment of our sins."
"The decay of virtue in a nation brings on a decay of every thing else"
"Those are happy afflictions, how grievous soever to flesh & blood, that help to introduce us into & improve us in an acquaintance with God."
"...God will certainly silence the lying proverbs, & the lying prophecies, with which they buoyed up their vain hopes, & will make them ashamed of both."
"As truth was older than error, so it will survive it; it got the start, & it will get the race."
"...God will certainly, & very shortly, accomplish every word that he has spoken."
"With men saying & doing are 2 things, but they are not so with God"

CHAPTER 13
​"These false prophets...  1. They pretend to have a commission from God, whereas he never sent them."
"They are prophets out of their own hearts"
"They say, The Lord saith; they pretend to be his messengers, but the Lord has not sent them, has not given them any orders."
"Foolish prophets are not of God's sending, for whom he sends he either finds fit or makes fit.  Where he gives warrant he gives wisdom.  2. They pretend to have instructions from God, whereas he never made himself & his mind known to them:  They followed their own spirit"
"3. They took no care to prevent the judgments of God that were breaking in upon the kingdom."
"They should have made it their business by preaching & advice to bring people to repentance & reformation, & so have made up the hedge, & put a stop to the judgments of God; but this was none of their care; they contrived how to please people, not how to profit them."
"Those are in a woeful condition that have God against them.  Woe, & a thousand woes, to those that have made him their enemy."
"Doctrines that are groundless, though ever so grateful, that are not built upon a scripture foundation nor fastened with a scripture cement, though ever so plausible, will stand men in any stead; & those hopes of peace & happiness which are not warranted by the word of God will but cheat men, like a wall that is well daubed indeed, but ill built."
"An angry God has winds & storms at command wherewith to alarm secure sinners"
"Whatever men think to shelter themselves with against the judgments of God, while they continue unreformed, will prove but a refuge of lies & will not profit them in the day of wrath."
"...no doom will be more fearful than that of unfaithful ministers, that flattered sinners in their sins."
"Those greatly pollute God's holy name that make use of it to give countenance to falsehood & wickedness."
"Those have a great deal to answer for who grieve the spirits, & weaken the hands, of good people, & who gratify the lusts of sinners, & animate them in their opposition of God"

CHAPTER 14
​"Many who have no idols to their sanctuary have idols in their hearts, which is no less a usurpation of God's throne & a profanation of his name."
"Humble worshippers God answers according to the multitude of his mercies, but bold intruders he answers according to the multitude of their idols"
"The judgment of God will dwell with men according to what they are really (that is, according to what their hearts are), not according to what they are in show & profession."
"Those that join themselves to idols separate themselves from God"
"The punishments of some are designed for the prevention of sin, that others may hear, & fear, & take warning.  When we see what becomes of those that go astray from God we should thereby be engaged to keep close to him."
"Those whom God takes into covenant with himself must first be cleansed from the pollutions of sin; & those who are cleansed shall not only be saved from ruin, but be entitled to all the privileges of God's people."
​"Grievous sins bring grievous plagues."
"...God often spares very wicked places for the sake of a few godly people in them."
"Abused patience will turn at last into inexorable wrath"
"It is a very comfortable sight to see people, when they are under the rod, repenting & humbling themselves, justifying God & accepting the punishment of their iniquity."
"When afflictions have done their work, & have accomplished that for which they were sent, then will appear the wisdom & goodness of God in sending them, & God will be not only justified, but glorified in them."

CHAPTER 15
​

CHAPTER 8

"God keeps a particular account of the messages he sends to us, because he will shortly call us to account about them."
"The more we retreat from the world, & retire into our own hearts, the better frame we are in for communion with God; those that sit down to consider what they have learned shall be taught more."
"A minister's house should be a church for all his neighbours."
"God's servants, wherever they are & whithersoever they go, ought to carry about with them a believing regard to the glory of God & to set that always before them; & those that have seen God's power & glory in the sanctuary should desire to see them again"
"The more glorious we see God to be the more odious we shall see sin to be, especially idolatry, which turns his truth into a lie, his glory into shame"
"God is jealous, & the Lord revenges, Nahum 1:2."
"He that doeth evil hates the light."
"The sins of leaders are leading sins."
"If we have forgotten the name of our God, & stretched forth our hand to a strange god, will not God search this out?"
"Those are ripe indeed for ruin who have arrived at such a pitch of impudence as to lay the blame of their sins upon God himself."
"An abominable thing indeed, that any should choose rather to serve an idol in tears than to serve the true God with joyfulness & gladness of heart!"
"When men turn their backs upon God's institutions, & despise them, it is no marvel if they wander endlessly after their own inventions."
"God will now be as deaf to their prayers as their own idols were, on whom they cried aloud, but in vain."
"It is not the loud voice, but the upright heart, that God will regard."

​CHAPTER 9
"Those that regard not the counsels God gives them in a still small voice shall be made to hear the threatenings, to hear & tremble."
"It is a matter of great comfort to all good Christians that, in the midst of the destroyers & the destructions that are abroad, there is a Mediator, a great high priest, who has an interest in heaven, & whom saints on earth have an interest in."
"A work of grace in the soul is to God a mark upon the forehead, which he will acknowledge as his mark, & by which he knows those that are his."
"Those who keep themselves pure in times of common iniquity God will keep safe in times of common calamity."
"When God has gathered his wheat into his garner nothing remains but to burn up the chaff, Matthew 3:12."
"...the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God, & hates sin most in those that are nearest to him."
"Wherever sin has gone before judgment will follow after"
"Sinners sink & perish under the weight of their own sins; it is their own way, which they deliberately chose rather than the way of God, & which they obstinately persisted in, in contempt of the word of God, that is recompensed on them."

​CHAPTER 10
"The people would not hear the oracles which God delivered to them from his holy temple, & therefore they shall thence be made to hear their doom."
"Ezekiel sees the glory of God shining in the sanctuary"
"The Spirit of God directs all the creatures, both upper & lower, so as to make them serve the divine purpose.  Events are not determined by the wheel of fortune, which is blind, but by the wheels of Providence, which are full of eyes."
"God removes by degrees from a provoking people; &, when he is ready to depart in displeasure, would return to them in mercy if they were but a repenting praying people."

​CHAPTER 11
"Where Satan cannot persuade men to look upon the judgment to come as a thing doubtful & uncertain, yet he gains his point by persuading them to look upon it as a thing at a distance, so that it loses its force"
"The greatest kindness ministers can do to secure sinners is to preach against them, & to show them their misery & danger, though they are ever so unwilling to see them."
"When sinners are flattering themselves into their own ruin, it is time to speak, & to tell them that they shall have no peace if they go on."
"...there is no peace to those that have left their God.  If they have by their sins driven God from his house, he will soon by his judgments drive them from theirs"
"Those shall be made to know by the sword of the Lord who would not be taught by his word what a hatred he has to sin, & what a fearful thing it is for impenitent sinners to fall into his hands."
"If we do not give honour to God by executing his judgments as he has commanded, he will get him honour upon us by executing his judgments as he has threatened; & thus we shall know that he is the Lord, the sovereign Lord of all, that will not be mocked."
"God takes notice of, & is much displeased with, the contempt which those that are in prosperity put upon their brethren that are in affliction."
"God prepares all for heaven whom he has prepared heaven for"
"Their hearts shall no longer be, as they have been, dead & dry, & hard & heavy, as a stone, no longer incapable of bearing good fruit, so that the good seed is lost upon it as it was on the stony ground."
"It is better to be in Babylon under the favour of God than in Jerusalem under his wrath & curse."
Matthew Henry's Commentary:  Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 791 - 812.