INSIGHTS & NOTES FROM
CHAPTER 41
"We have scarcely such an instance of perfidious cruelty in all the Scripture" "...God permitted it for the completing of the ruin of an unhumbled people, & the filling up of the measure of their judgments, who had filled up the measure of their iniquities. Let it inspire us with an indignation at the wickedness of men & an awe of God's righteousness." "The people of God used to go rejoicing to the house of the Lord, but these went in the habit of mourners, with their clothes rent & their heads shaven" "When we think ourselves safe, & begin to be easy, destruction may come that way that we little expected it. There is many a ship wrecked in the harbour. We can never be sure of peace on this side heaven." "The most cruel are often the most cowardly." "Those will justly lose their comfort in real fears that excuse themselves in sin with pretended fears." CHAPTER 42 "In every difficult doubtful case our eye must be up to God for direction." "...we may still in faith pray to be guided by a spirit of wisdom in our hearts & the hints of Providence." "Ministers may hence learn, 1. Conscientiously to pray for those who desire their prayers... 2. Conscientiously to advise those who desire their advice as near as they can to the mind of God, not keeping back any thing that is profitable for them, whether it be pleasing or no, but to declare to them the whole counsel of God, that they may approve themselves true to their trust." "Those that expect to have the benefit of good ministers' prayers must conscientiously hearken to their preaching & be governed by it, as far as it agrees with the mind of God." "We do not truly desire to know the mind of God if we do not fully resolve to comply with it when we do know it." "...if God be for you to save you, who can be against you to hurt you?" "Whatever kindness men do us we must attribute it to God's kindness." "The evils we think to escape by sin we certainly & inevitably run ourselves upon. The men that go to escape the sword & famine, shall die in Egypt by sword & famine." "Those that have by sin made God their enemy will find him a consuming fire wherever they go." "When God's professing people mingle with infidels, & make their court to them, they lose their dignity & make themselves a reproach." "Admire the patience of God, that he is pleased to speak to those who, he knows, will not regard him, & deal with those who, he knows, will deal very treacherously." "God's threatenings may be vilified, but cannot be nullified, by the unbelief of man." "We know not what is good for ourselves; & that often proves afflictive, & sometimes fatal, which we are most fond of & have our hearts most set upon." CHAPTER 43 "They resolve not to dwell in the land of Judah, as God had ordered them." "It is the folly of men that they know not when they are well off, & often ruin themselves by endeavouring to better themselves, & it is the pride of great men to force those they have under their power to follow them, though ever so much against their duty & interest." "The world's princes are God's servants & he makes what use he pleases of them, & even those that know him not, nor aim at his honour, are the tools which his providence makes use of." "God sometimes makes one wicked man, or wicked nation, a scourge & plague to another." CHAPTER 44 "It becomes us to speak of sin with the utmost dread & detestation as an abominable thing; it is certainly so, for it is that which God hates, & we are sure that his judgment is according to truth. Call it grievous, call it odious, that we may be all means possible put ourselves & others out of love with it. It becomes us to give warning of the danger of sin, & the fatal consequences of it, with all seriousness & earnestness; 'Oh! do not do it. If you love God, do not, for it is provoking to him; if you love your own souls do not, for it is destructive to them." "In sinning against God we sin against our own souls." "Those that walk not in the law of God do thereby show that they are destitute of the fear of God." "If we walk contrary to God, he will walk contrary to us." "They declare their resolution not to do as God commanded them, but what they themselves had a mind to do; that is, they would go on to worship the moon, here called the queen of heaven" "Those that live in disobedience to God commonly grow worse & worse, & the heart is more & more hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." "Those who know God, & put their trust in him, will serve him, though he starve them, though he slay them, though they never see a good day with him in this world, being well assured that they shall not lose by him in the end." "It is sad when those who are in the nearest relation to each other, who should quicken each other to that which is good & so help one another to heaven, harden each other in sin & so ripen one another for hell." "Daring sinners may speak many a bold word & many a big word, but, after all, God will have the last word; for he will be justified when he speaks, & all flesh, even the proudest, shall be silent before him." "The right understanding of the cause of our troubles, one would think, should go far towards the cure of our sins." "With the froward he will show himself froward. Psalms 18:26." "To those whom God finds impenitent sinners he will be found an implacable Judge." "The contest between God & sinners is whose word shall stand, whose will shall be done, who shall get the better. Sinners say that they shall have peace though they go on; God says they shall have no peace. But when God judges he will overcome; God's word shall stand, & not the sinner's." "...no word of God shall fall to the ground." Matthew Henry's Commentary: Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 652 - 668.
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CHAPTER 37
"Those have hearts wretchedly hard indeed that see God's judgments on others, & feel them on themselves, & yet will not be humbled & brought to heed what he says." "When we are in distress we ought to desire the prayers of our ministers & Christian friends" "Many who despise prayer when they are in prosperity will be glad of it when they are in adversity." "Satan himself, though he is the great deceiver, could not deceive us if we did not deceive ourselves." "Whatever instruments God has determined to make use of in any service for him, whether of mercy or judgment, they shall accomplish that for which they are designed" "Those by whom God has resolved to save or to destroy, saviors they shall be & destroyers they shall be." "...there are times when it is the wisdom of good men to retire into privacy, to enter into the chamber & shut the doors about them. Isaiah 26:20." "When at any time we are thus falsely accused we may do as Jeremiah did, boldly deny the charge & then commit our cause to him that judges righteously." "Those that will not hearken to God's admonitions when they are in prosperity would be glad of his consolations when they are in adversity" "Jeremiah was one that had obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful, & would not, to obtain mercy of man, be unfaithful either to God or to his prince; he therefore tells him the truth, the whole truth." "God gave Jeremiah favour in the eyes of the king." CHAPTER 38 "It is common for wicked people to look upon God's faithful ministers as their enemies only because they show them what enemies they are to themselves while they continue impenitent." "God has his remnant in all places, among all sorts." "See how God can raise up friends for his people in distress where they little thought of them, & animate men for his service even beyond expectation." "Those that are in distress should not only be received, but relieved with compassion & marks of respect, all which shall be placed to account & abound to a good account in the day of recompence." "Ministers must with meekness instruct even those that oppose themselves, & render good for evil." "Then, & then only, there is hope of sinners, when they are willing to hearken to good counsel." "Ministers have little heart to speak to those who have long & often turned a deaf ear the them." "If he will tamely yield, he shall save his children from the sword & Jerusalem from the flames." "...if he will but acknowledge God's justice, he shall experience his mercy." "Those have very weak & fretful spirits indeed that cannot bear to be laughed at for that which is both their duty & their interest." "Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, because it is his voice, so it shall be well unto thee." "...subjects often suffer for the pride & willfulness of their rulers, who should be their protectors, but prove their destroyers." "...those that decline the way of duty for fear of reproach will certainly meet with much greater reproach in the way of disobedience. The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him. Proverbs 10:24." "Many hear God's words, but will not do them." "Though we must be harmless as doves, so as never to tell a willful lie, yet we must be wise as serpents, so as not needlessly to expose ourselves to danger by telling all we know." CHAPTER 39 "...sin had provoked God to withdraw his protection" "He ordered Zedekiah to have his eyes put out (v. 7), so condemning him to darkness for life who had shut his eyes against the clear light of God's word" "The rich had been proud oppressors & now they were justly punished for their injustice; the poor had been patient sufferers, & now they were graciously rewarded for their patience & amends made them for all their losses; for verily there is a God that judges in the earth, even in this world, much more in the other." "God knows how to adapt & accommodate his comforts to the fears & griefs of his people, for he knows their souls in adversity." "...there is no principle of obedience that will be more acceptable to God, nor have a greater influence upon us, than a believing confidence in God." "...those who trust God ...in the way of duty, will find that their hope shall not make them ashamed in times of the greatest danger." CHAPTER 40 "Sooner or later men shall be made sensible that their sin is the cause of all their miseries." "See here in wrath God remembered mercy" "...when God begins in judgment he will make an end." "Happy are those that have the King of kings on their side, who can take the wise in their own craftiness" Matthew Henry's Commentary: Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 636 - 652. CHAPTER 33
"No confinement can deprive God's people of his presence; no locks nor bars can shut out his gracious visits; nay, oftentimes as their afflictions abound their consolations much more abound, & they have the most reviving communications of his favour when the world frowns upon them." "Those that expect to receive comforts from God must continue instant in prayer." "Be the case ever so desperate, if God undertake the cure, he will effect it." "Peace & truth are the life of the soul, & Christ came that we might have that life, & might have it more abundantly. Christ alone by the power of truth (John 18:37) & by it he gives abundance of peace. Psalms 72:7" "By sin they have become filthy, & odious to God's holiness, but God will cleanse them, & purify them from their iniquity." "Nothing is more the praise & honour of a people than to have God praised & honoured among them." "Though the promise may sometimes work slowly towards an accomplishment, it works surely. The days will come, though they are long in coming." "In the Lord have I righteousness & strength. Isaiah 14:24. And we are made the righteousness of God in him." "Christ's kingdom is an everlasting kingdom" "...the covenant stands notwithstanding, as firm as that with day & night; sooner will God suffer day & night to cease than he will cast away the see of Jacob." "Christ... shall continue in the dominion of Christ, & the subjection of Christians to him, till day & night come to an end." "...all that walk according to the gospel rule are made to be the Israel of God, on whom peace & mercy shall be." CHAPTER 34 "It is better to live & die penitent in a prison than to live & die impenitent in a palace." "It is a mercy to great men to have those about them that will deal faithfully with them, & tell them the evil consequences of their evil courses, that they may reform & live." "God's compassions towards us should engage our compassions towards our brethren; we must release as we are released, forgive as we are forgiven, & relieve as we are relieved." "...what need there is of the preaching of the word; people must hear the word preached" "What God has bound us to by his precept, it is good for us to bind ourselves to by our promise." "...they did right in God's sight, v. 15" "As soon as ever they let their servants go free God let them go free." "...since they had not given liberty to their servants to go where they pleased, God would give all his judgments liberty to take their course against them without control." "Those that will not be in subjection to the law of God put themselves into subjection to the wrath & curse of God." "They had all dealt treacherously with God, & therefore shall all be involved in the common ruin without exception." "If we repent of the good we had purposed, God will repent of the good he had purposed. With the froward thou wilt show thyself froward." CHAPTER 35 "...a good man, who has his heart made continually glad with the light of God's countenance, has no little need of it" "It is our wisdom & duty to accommodate ourselves to our place & rank, & not aim to live above it." "Humility & contentment in obscurity are often the best policy & men's surest protection." "Those are in the best frame to meet sufferings who are mortified to the world & live a life self-denial." "The greatest blessing that can be entailed upon a family is to have the worship of God kept up in it from generation to generation." "The more dead we are to the delights of sense the better we are disposed for the service of God; but nothing is more fatal... than pride & luxury." CHAPTER 36 "The serious consideration of the certain fatal consequences of sin will be of great use to us to bring us to God." "The conversion of sinners from their evil courses is that which ministers should aim at in preaching." "What we have heard & known it is good for us to hear again, that we may know it better." "Prayer to God for grace to turn us is necessary in order to our turning; & those that are convinced by the word of God of the necessity of returning to him will present their supplications to him for that grace." "Fasting, without reforming & turning away from sin, will never turn away the judgment of God. Jonah 3:10." "When we are speaking to God we must be willing to hear from him; & therefore, on days of fasting & prayer, it is requisite that the word be read & preached." "When we have heard some good word that has affected & edified us we should be ready to communicate it to others that did not hear it, for their edification." "See what an enmity there is against God in the carnal mind" "Though the attempts of hell against the word of God are very daring, yet not one iota or tittle of it shall fall to the ground, nor shall the unbelief of man make the word of God of no effect. Enemies may prevail to burn many a Bible, but they cannot abolish the word of God" "There is no escaping God's judgments by struggling with them. Who ever hardened his heart against God & prospered?" "...those who contend with God's woes do but prepare for themselves heavier of the same kind." Matthew Henry's Commentary: Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald. pgs. 617 - 636. CHAPTER 29
"The word of God written is as truly given by inspiration of God as his word spoken was" "If God caused them to be carried captives, they might be sure that he neither did them any wrong nor meant them any hurt." "It will help very much to reconcile us to our troubles, & to make us patient under them, to consider that they are what God has appointed us to." "In all conditions of life it is our wisdom & duty to make the best of that which is, & not to throw away the comfort of what we may have because we have not all we would have." "If the earth be the Lord's, then, wherever a child of God goes, he does not go off his Father's ground." "Meek & quiet people, that work & mind their own business, have often found much better treatment, even with strangers & enemies, than they expected" "As long as we have the word of truth to try the spirits by it is our own fault if we be deceived; for by it we may be undeceived." "Though the deliverance of the church do not come in our time, it is sufficient that it will come in God's time." "That which is indeed God's word is a good word, & therefore it will be made good, & not one jot or tittle of it shall fall to the ground. Hath he said, & shall he not do it?" "...as for God, his work is perfect. He that in the beginning finished the heavens & the earth, & all the hosts of both, will finish all the blessings of both to his people. When he begins in ways of mercy, he will make an end. God does no thing by halves." "When God is about to give his people the expected good he pours out a spirit of prayer, & it is a good sign that he is coming towards them in mercy." "Promises are given, not to supersede, but to quicken & encourage prayer; & when deliverance is coming we must by prayer go forth to meet it." "...those who thus seek God shall find him, & shall find him their bountiful rewarder. Hebrews 11:6." "The most secret sins are known to God; he can see the villany that is covered with the thickest cloak of hypocrisy, & there is a day coming when he will bring to lightall these hidden works of darkness & every man will appear in his own colours." "God had confirmed his word in the mouth of Jeremiah; it had taken hold of them (Zech. 1:6); & yet, because he does not prophesy to them the smooth things they desired, they are resolved to look upon him as not duly called to the office of a prophet." "It is kindness to our friends to let them know their foes." "Those are unworthy to share in God's favours to his church that are not willing to stay his time for them." "Those that slight the blessings of God's word deserve to lose the benefit of them." CHAPTER 30 "These are the words which God ordered to be written; & those promises which are written by his order are as truly his word as the ten commandments which were written with his finger." "Though the afflictions of the church may last long, they shall not last always. Salvation belongs to the Lord, & shall be wrought for his church." "...deliverance out of temporal calamities are mercies indeed to us when by them we find ourselves engaged to & enlarged in the service of God." "...Christ ...Those to whom he gives rest must take his yoke upon them." "God is no respecter of persons, but will show his hatred of sin whenever he finds it, & that he hates it most in those that are nearest to him." "When God is against a people who will be for them?" "Though God correct them, & justly, for their sins, their manifold transgressions & mighty sins, yet he will return in mercy to them, & even their sin shall not prevent their deliverance when God's time shall come." "Be the disease ever so dangerous, the patient is safe if God undertakes the cure." "Those that are God's servants must not give way to disquieting fears, whatever difficulties & dangers may be before them. They must not sorrow as those that have no hope for the troubles which at present they lie under." "The purposes of his wrath, as well as the purposes of his love, will all be fulfilled; he will perform the intents of his heart." CHAPTER 31 "If we & our houses serve the Lord, we & our houses shall be protected & blessed by him. Proverbs 3:33." "God can make those who have been enemies to... the true worship of God to become encouragers of them & leaders in them." "What we either bring to others or take to ourselves the comfort of we must be sure to give God the praise of." "When we are praising God for what he has done we must call upon him for the future favours which the church is in need & expectation of; & in praying to him we really praise him & give him glory; he takes it so." "...let none plead that he is blind who has God for his guide, or lame who has God for his strength." "If we take God for our Father, & join ourselves to the church of the first-born, we may be assured that we shall want nothing that is good for us." "It is comfortable to observe the goodness of the Lord in the gifts of common providence, & even in them to taste covenant-love." "Our souls are never valuable as gardens but when they are watered with the dews of God's Spirit & grace." "God will turn their mourning into joy, their fasts into solemn feasts. Zechariah 8:19." "The comforts of the deliverance shall be sufficient to balance all the grievances of thy captivity." "The sin of our youth was the reproach of our youth, & we ought often to remember it against ourselves & to bear it in a penitential sorrow & shame." "Those that have been undutiful backsliding children, if they sincerely return & repent, however they have been under the chastisement of the rod, shall be accepted of God as dear & pleasant children." "When God afflicts his people, yet he does not forget them; when he casts them out of their land, yet he does not cast them out of sight, nor out of mind." "The way from Babylon to Zion, from the bondage of sin to the glorious liberty of God's children, is a highway; it is right, it is plain, it is safe, it is well-tracked" "Justice towards men & holiness towards God, must go together." "...we may with great comfort pray for the blessing of God upon those houses that are habitations of justice, those cities & countries that are mountains of holiness. There the Lord will undoubtedly command the blessing. There shall be great plenty of all good things among them." "In the love & favour of God the weary soul shall find rest & the sorrowful soul joy." "God will be as ready to comfort those that repent of their sins, & are humbled for them, as he is to punish those that continue in love with their sins, & are hardened in them." "God writes his law in the hearts of all believers, makes it ready & familiar to them, at hand when they have occasion to use it, as that which is written in the heart. Proverbs 3:3." "...those that rightly know God's name will seek him, & serve him, & put their trust in him" "It is sin that keeps good things from us, that stops the current of God's favours; let sin be taken away by pardoning mercy, & the obstruction is removed, & divine grace runs down like a river, like a mighty stream." "Our help stands in his name who made heaven & earth, & therefore can do any thing." CHAPTER 32 "Silencing God's prophets, though it is not as bad as mocking & killing them, is yet a great affront to the God of heaven." "It concerns ministers to make it to appear in their whole conversation that they do themselves believe that which they preach to others; & that they may do so, & impress it the more deeply upon their hearers, they must many a time deny themselves, as Jeremiah did in both these instances." "Prayer is a salve for every sore. Whatever is a burden to us, we may by prayer cast it upon the Lord & then be easy." "When at any time we are perplexed about the particular methods & dispensations of Providence it is good for us to have recourse to our first principles & to satisfy ourselves with the general doctrines of God's wisdom, power, & goodness." "...God is the fountain of all being, power, life, motion, & perfection; He made the heaven & the earth with his outstretched arm; & therefore who can control him? Who dares contend with him? ...with him nothing is impossible." "...he is a God of boundless bottomless mercy" "...he is a God of impartial & inflexible justice." "...he is a God of universal dominion & command; He is the great God, for he is the mighty God." "...he contrives every thing for the best, & effects every thing as he conceived it; He is great in counsel, so vast are the reaches & so deep are the designs of his wisdom" "God had given them fair warning of it before; &, if they had regarded this, the ruin would have been prevented" "Whatever trouble we are in, upon a personal or public account, we may comfort ourselves with this, that God sees it & sees how to remedy it." "...his favour ...It is sin, that & nothing else, that ruins it." "They had been under God's anger, & fury, & great wrath; but now they shall partake of his grace, & love, & great favour." "Teachers may but put good things into our heads, but it is God only that can put them into our hearts, that can work in us both to will & to do." "We have no reason to distrust God's fidelity & constancy, but our own" "We cannot better consult the good of posterity than by setting up, & keeping up, the fear & worship of God in our families." Matthew Henry's Commentary: Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 585 - 617. CHAPTER 25
"God keeps an account, whether we do or no, how long we have enjoyed the means of grace; & the longer we have enjoyed them, the heavier will our account be if we have not improved them." "Personal & particular reformation must be insisted on as necessary to a national deliverance; every one must turn from his own evil way." "What is a provocation to God will prove in the end, hurt to ourselves, & we must bear the blame of it." "When men will not regard the judgments of God's mouth they may expect to feel the judgments of his hands, to bear the rod, since they would not hear the word; for the sinner must either be parted from his sin or perish in it." "The messengers of God's wrath will be sent against those that would not receive the messengers of his mercy." "they would not hear the voice of God's word & therefore the voice of mirth shall no more be heard among them." "It is the just anger of God that sends this judgment. The nations have provoked him by their sins, & they must fall under the tokens of his wrath." "Drunkenness deprives men, for the present, of the use of their reason, makes them mad. It takes from them likewise that which, next to reason, is the most valuable blessing, & that is health; it makes them sick, & endangers the bones & the life." "...the fierce anger of the Lord" "...he is never angry without cause; but who knows the power of his anger?" "When one nation is a seat of war every neighboring nation should hear, & fear, & make its peace with God." "Blessed be God, there is a peaceable habitation above for all the sons of peace, which is out of the reach of fire & sword." CHAPTER 26 "God's ambassadors must keep closely to their instructions, & not in the least vary from them, either to please men or to save themselves from harm. They must neither add nor diminish. Deuteronomy 4:2." "God directed him what to preach, & it is that which could not give offence to any but such as were resolved to go on still in their trespasses." "They had hitherto been deaf both to the law & to the prophets; You have not hearkened." "Those that will not be subject to the commands of God make themselves subject to the curse of God." "The corrupt priests & counterfeit prophets have always been the most bitter enemies of the prophets of the Lord." "As long as ministers keep closely to the instructions they have from heaven they need not fear the opposition they may meet with from hell or earth." "Those that persecute God's ministers hurt not them so much as themselves." "It is good to deter ourselves from sin with the consideration of the mischief we shall certainly do to ourselves by it & the irreparable damage it will be to our own souls." "There is no contending with the word of God." "God can, when he pleases, raise up great men... & it is an encouragement to us to trust him in the way of duty that he has all men's hearts in his hands." CHAPTER 27 "What is the meaning of Jeremiah's yokes?" "Ministers must thus lay themselves under the weight & obligation of what they preach to others." "Whatever any have of the good things of this world, it is what God sees fit to give them; we ourselves should therefore be content, though we have ever so little" "Those that would not serve the God that made them were justly made to serve their enemies that sought to ruin them." "When God judges, he will overcome." "It were well if sinners would, in like manner, be afraid of the destruction threatened against all those that will not have Christ to reign over them, & reason thus with themselves, 'Why should we die the second death, which is a thousand times worse than that by sword & famine, when we might submit & live?" "Prophets must be praying men; by being much in prayer they must make it to appear that they keep up a correspondence with heaven." "When God's judgments are abroad we must not seek great things, but be thankful for a little." "Though the return of the church's prosperity do not come in our time, we must not therefore despair of it, for it will come in God's time." "We are apt to set our clock before God's dial, & then to quarrel because they do not agree; but the Lord is a God of judgment, & it is fit that we should wait for him." CHAPTER 28 "God himself, though he has determined, does not desire, the death of sinners, but would have all men to be saved. Jeremiah often interceded for his people. The false prophets thought to ingratiate themselves with the people by promising them peace." "...God is gracious, & ready to turn away his wrath from those that turn away from their sins." "The word of God, in the mouth of Jeremiah, is ratified & confirmed." "If what we have spoken be the truth of God, we must not unsay it because men gainsay it; for great is the truth & will prevail. It will stand, therefore let us stand to it, & not fear that men's unbelief or blasphemy will make it of no effect." "...if the people's hearts had not been wretchedly hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, it would have prevented their being further hardened by the deceitfulness of their prophets." Matthew Henry's Commentary: Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 565 - 585. CHAPTER 21
"Those that put the evil day far from them will be the more terrified when it comes upon them; & those who before slighted God's ministers may then perhaps be glad to court an acquaintance with them." "Those that will not take the direction of God's grace how to get clear of their sins would yet be glad of the directions of his providence how to get clear of their troubles." "Those that slight the prayers of God's people & ministers when they are in prosperity may perhaps be glad of an interest in them when they come to be in distress." "It is folly to think that God should do for us while we hold fast our iniquity as he did for those that held fast their integrity." "If that place which should have been a centre of devotion be made a centre of wickedness, it is not strange if God make it a rendezvous of destroyers." "...it will soon be found what a fearful thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God." "Let not those expect to find mercy with men who have forfeited God's compassions, & shut themselves out from his mercy." "It was the evil of their doings that kindled the fire of God's wrath." "...those that would have the benefit of a prophet's prayers must thankfully take a prophet's reproofs." "If God be for us, who can be against us? But, if he be against us, who can be for us, to stand us in any stead?" "...our God is himself a consuming fire; and who is able to stand in his sight when once he is angry?" CHAPTER 22 "Sin has often been the ruin of royal palaces, though ever so stately, ever so strong." "Sin will be the ruin of the houses of princes as well as of mean men." "See how easily God's judgments can ruin a nation, & how certainly sin will do it." "They forsook the covenant of Jehovah, their own God, revolted from their allegiance to him & from the duty which their covenant with him bound them to, & they worshipped other gods & served them, in contempt of him; & therefore he gave them up to this destruction." "God never casts any off, until they first cast him off." "Those therefore that are enlarging their houses, & making them more sumptuous, have need to look well to the frame of their own spirits in the doing of it, & carefully to watch against all the workings of vain-glory." "Those wretchedly deceive themselves who think their present prosperity is a lasting security" "It is but in his own conceit that the rich man's wealth is his strong city." "The right knowledge of God consists in doing our duty, particularly that which is the duty of our place & station in the world." "While we do well we may expect it will be well with us." "It is sad for any to live so that , when they die, none will be sorry to part with them." "Those that are lifted up with great pride are commonly reserved for some great disgrace in life or death." "It is common for those that live at ease to live in contempt of the word of God." "When thou art overthrown in stony places thou wilt be glad to hear those words which in thy prosperity thou wouldest not hear." "Let it be our care that we die in Christ, & then it will be well with us, wherever we die, though it should be in a far country." "What is idolized will, first or last, be despised & broken; what is unjustly honoured will be justly contemned & rivals with God will be the scorn of men. Whatever we idolize we shall be disappointed in & then shall despise." "...those who take no care to do good in their days cannot expect to prosper in their days." CHAPTER 23 "Woe be to those therefore who are commanded to feed God's people, & pretend to do it, but who, instead of that, scatter the flock, & drive them away by their violence & oppression, & have not visited them, nor taken any care for their welfare, nor concerned themselves at all to do them good." "If some have abused a sacred office, that is no good reason why it should be abolished." "As an advocate, he is Jesus Christ the righteous." "Those that shall be saved hereafter from the wrath to come may dwell safely now; for if God be for us, who can be against us?" "He is a sovereign, all-sufficient, eternal righteousness. All our righteousness has its being from him, & by him it subsists, & we are made the righteousness of God in him." "The dishonour done to God's name, & the profanation of his holy word, are the greatest grief imaginable to a gracious soul." "Even those that have God for them cannot but tremble to think of the misery of those that have God against them." "They make use of the name of the God of truth, & yet walk in lies" "They speak a vision of their own heart; it is the product of their own invention, & agrees with their own inclination, but it is not out of the mouth of the Lord" "Those that are resolved to go on in their evil ways will justly be given up to believe the strong delusions of those who tell them that they shall have peace though they go on." "Nothing more effectually debauches a nation than the debauchery of ministers." "Those that will not consider in time will be made to consider when it is too late." "No arts of concealment can hide men from the eye of God, nor deceive his judgment of them." "The great thing Satan aims at is to make people forget God" "...let the true prophet, that has my word, speak my word faithfully, speak it closely to his instructions, & you will soon perceive a vast difference between the dreams that the false prophets tell & the divine dictates which the true prophets deliver." "Those that have spiritual senses exercised will be able to distinguish; for what is the chaff to the wheat?" "The word God is like fire." "Fire has different effects, according as the matter is on which it works; it hardens clay, but softens wax; it consumes the dross, but purifies the gold. So the word of God is to some a savour of life unto life, to others of death unto death." "Those that corrupt the word of God, while they pretend to preach it, are so far from edifying the church that they do it the greatest mischief imaginable." "It is an impudent thing to abuse him that is the living God, the Lord of hosts, & our God." "We must always speak of the things of God reverently & seriously, & as becomes the oracles of God." "Those shall be severely reckoned with that thus pervert the words of God, that put a wrong construction on them & make a bad use of them" "Perverting God's word, & ridiculing the preachers of it, are sins that bring ruining judgments upon families & entail a curse upon a house." "Those are miserable indeed that are forsaken & forgotten of God" "God's word will be magnified & made honourable when those that mock at it shall be vilified & made contemptible. Those that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." CHAPTER 24 "Sinners are the worst of men, hypocrites the worst of sinners." "The sooner the child is corrected the better effect the correction is likely to have." "Even this disgraceful uncomfortable captivity God intended for their benefit" "I have sent them into the land of the Chaldeans for their good." "By their afflictions they were convinced of sin, humbled under the hand of God, weaned from the world, made serious, taught to pray, & turned from their iniquity; particularly they were cured of their inclination to idolatry; & thus it was good for them that they were afflicted." "I will set my eyes upon them for good, to order every thing for the best" "Their captivity was to square the rough stones & make them fit for his building, to prune up the young trees & make them fit for his planting." "Those that have backslidden from God, if they do in sincerity return, to him, are admitted as freely as any to all the privileges & comforts of the everlasting covenant" Matthew Henry's Commentary: Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 541 - 565. CHAPTER 17
"The sin of sinners is never forgotten till it is forgiven." "Justly are men stripped of that which they have served their idols with & have made the food & fuel of their lusts." "Sin works a discontinuance of our comforts & deprives us of the enjoyment of that which God has given us." "...putting that confidence in the wisdom & power, the kindness & faithfulness, of men, which should be placed in those attributes of God only, making our applications to men & raising our expectations from them as principal agents" "Those that trust to their own righteousness & strength, & think they can do well enough without the merit & grace of Christ, thus make flesh their arm, & their souls cannot prosper in graces or comforts; they can neither produce the fruits of acceptable services to God nor reap the fruits of saving blessings from him; they dwell in a dry land." "The duty required of us - to trust in the Lord" "It is to make the Lord our hope, his favour the good we hope for & his power the strength we hope in." "Those that make God their hope (1.) They shall flourish in credit & comfort, like a tree that is always green, whose leaf does not wither, they shall be cheerful to themselves & beautiful in the eyes of others." "they shall be fruitful in holiness, & in all good works. Those who trust in God, & by faith derive strength & grace from him, shall not cease from yielding fruit;" "...God is Judge himself, & he alone, because he, & none besides, knows the hearts of the children of men." "God knows more evil of us than we do of ourselves, which is a good reason why we should not flatter ourselves, but always stand in awe or the judgment of God." "Let us therefore be wise in time - what we get to get it honesty, & what we have to use it charitably, that we may lay up in store a good foundation & be wise for eternity." "God is to all that are his a fountain of living waters. There is a fulness of comfort in him, an over-flowing, ever-flowing fulness, like that of a fountain; it is always fresh, & clear, & clean, like spring water, while the pleasures of sin are puddle-waters." "Those that come to God to be healed ought to be abundantly satisfied in the all-sufficiency of their physician." "If God hold us up, we shall live; if he protect us, we shall be safe." "God does not, & therefore ministers must not, desire the death of sinners, but rather that they may turn & live." "Those that by faith make God their confidence shall have him for their comfort in the worst of times." "God's ministers have work to do which they need not be either ashamed or afraid to go on in, but they do need to be helped by the divine grace to go on in it without shame or fear." CHAPTER 18 "Those that would know God's mind must observe his appointments, & attend where they may hear his words." "Thus are our times in God's hand, & not in our own, & it is in vain for us to strive with him." "God formed us out of the clay, & we are still as clay in his hands; & has not he the same power over us that the potter has over the clay? & are not we bound to submit, as the clay, to the potter's wisdom & will?" "Sin is the great mischief-maker between God & a people; it forfeits the benefit of his promises & spoils the success of their prayers." "It is a terrible thing, enough to make one tremble to think of it, that those who have made their condition sad by sinning should make it desperate by refusing to reform." "Those that revolt from God will justly be made the scorn of all about them, &, having reproached the Lord, will themselves be a reproach." "What good can be done with those who hear the word of God with a resolution not to heed it or believe it." "Call a man ungrateful & you can call him no worse." "Those will not be won upon by the kindness of God & his prophets will certainly at length feel the just resentments of both." CHAPTER 19 "...those that would win souls must be wise." "Persons of rank & figure have an opportunity of honouring God by a diligent attendance on the ministry of the word" "There is no fleeing from God's justice but by fleeing to his counsel, by humbling themselves under his mighty hand, shall find that God will make void their counsel & blast their projects." "Whatever men may think to the contrary, the executions of Providence will fully answer the predictions of the word, & God will appear as terrible against sin & sinners as the scripture makes him" "We have need therefore to pray that God, by his grace, would deliver us from hardness of heart & contempt of his word & commandments." CHAPTER 20 "God can make the most daring sinner a terror to himself, & will find out a way to frighten those that frighten his people from doing their duty." "Happy are those who have secured to themselves precious things in God's precious promises, which are out of the reach of soldiers." "Lively preachers are the scorn of careless unbelieving hearers." "He (Jeremiah) was tempted to quit his work & give it over, partly because he himself met with so much hardship in it & partly because those to whom he was sent, instead of being edified & made better, were exasperated & made worse" "He found the grace of God mighty in him to keep him to his business, notwithstanding the temptation he was in to throw it up" "He that tries the righteous tries the unrighteous too, & he is very well qualified to do both; for he sees the reins & the heart, he certainly knows men's thoughts & affections, their aims & intentions, & therefore can pass an unerring judgment on their words & actions." "Whatever injuries are done us, we must not study to avenge ourselves, but must leave it to that God to do it to whom vengeance belongs, & who hath said, I will repay." "It is proper to express our hope in God by our praising him, & our praising God by our singing to him. That which is the matter of the praise is, He hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of the evil-doers" "Those that are faithful in well-doing need not fear them that are spiteful in evil-doing, for they have a God to trust to who has well-doers under the hand of his protection & evil-doers under the hand of his restraint." "If there were not another life after this, we should be tempted many a time to wish that we had never know this; for our few days here are full of trouble." "When the heart is hot, let the tongue be bridled." "Father in heaven, lead us not into temptation!" Matthew Henry's Commentary: Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 517 - 541. "CHAPTER 13
"It was usual with the prophets to teach by signs" "Ministers must spend, & be spent, for the good of souls." "Those whom God takes to be to him for a people he intends to be to him for a praise." "They would not cleave to God, but walked after other gods, to serve them, & to worship them" "Pride will have a fall, for God resists the proud." "Darkness will be the portion of those that will not repent to give glory to God." "Those that think to out-run the judgments of God will find their road impassable" "Those that are exalted above others in the world must humble themselves before God, who is higher than the highest, & to whom kings & queens are accountable." "Those that have been long accustomed to sin have shaken off the restraints of fear & shame; their consciences are seared" "Forgetfulness of God is at the bottom of all sin." "Whatever those trust to that forsake God, they will find it a broken reed, a broken cistern." "It is the great concern of those who are polluted by sin to be made clean by repentance, & faith, & a universal reformation." "It is an instance of the wonderful grace of God that he desires the repentance & conversion of sinners." CHAPTER 14 "They would not be ashamed of their sins, nor confounded at the sense of them, but were unhumbled under the reproofs of the word, thinking their wealth & dignity set them above repentance" "Our sins are witnesses against us, & true penitents see them to be such." "Our best pleas in prayer are those that are fetched from the glory of God's own name." "Since God is his people's all-sufficient Saviour, they ought to hope in him in their greatest straits; &, since he is their only Saviour, they ought to hope in him alone." "It becomes us in prayer to show ourselves concerned more for God's glory than for our own comfort." "What is false & groundless is vain & worthless. The vision that is not true, be it ever so pleasing, is good for nothing; it is the deceit of their heart" "Because God, though he inflicts death on sinners, yet delights not in it, it becomes his ministers, though in his name they pronounce the death of sinners, yet sadly to lament it." "God will be no loser in his honour at the long-run." "The sovereignty of God should engage, & his all-sufficiency encourage our attendance on him & our expectations from him at all times." CHAPTER 15 "There is mercy for those who have turned aside if they will return; but what favour can those expect that persist in their apostasy." "It is a great & sufficient support to the people of God that, how troublesome soever their way may be, it shall be well with them in their latter end. Psalms 37:37." "God has all men's hearts in his hand, & can turn those to favour his servants whom they were most afraid of." "It is matter of comfort to us that, whatever ails us, we have a God to go to, before whom we may spread our case & to whose omniscience we may appeal, as the prophet here, 'O Lord I thou knowest; thou knowest my sincerity, which men are resolved they will not acknowledge; thou knowest my distress, which men disdain" "God is not a man that he should lie. The fountain of life will never be to his people as waters that fail." "Faithful ministers are God's mouth to us" "Those that have God with them have a Saviour with them who has wisdom & strength enough to deal with the most formidable enemy; & those that are with God, & faithful to him, he will deliver... either from trouble or through it." CHAPTER 16 "Those that would convince others of & affect them with the word of God must make it appear, even in the most self-denying instances, that they do believe it themselves & are affected with it." "Whatever peace we enjoy, it is God's peace; it is his gift, &, if he give quietness, who then can make trouble?" "Those have cut themselves off from all true peace that have thrown themselves out of the favour of God. All is gone when God takes away from us his lovingkindness & his mercies." "God's favour is our life; take away that, & we die, we perish, we all perish." Ministers ought to be examples of self-denial & mortification." "The voice of God's prophets was not heard, was not heeded, among them & therefore no longer shall the voice of the bridegroom & of the bride, of the songs that used to grace the nuptials be heard among them." "It is the happiness of the soul to be employed in the service of God" "None of the sins of sinners either can be concealed from God or shall be overlooked by him. Proverbs 5:21." "God glorifies himself, & we must glorify him." "Need drives many to God who had set themselves a distance from him. Those that slighted him in the day of their prosperity will be glad to flee to him in the day of their affliction." "Those that are brought to God themselves cannot but rejoice greatly to see others coming to him, coming back to him." "It were well if the disappointment which some have met with in the service of sin, & the pernicious consequences of it to them, might prevail to deter others from treading in their steps." Matthew Henry's Commentary: Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 490 - 517. CHAPTER 9
"Blessed are those that mourn, for they shall be comforted hereafter." "While we find our hearts such fountains of sin, it is fit that our eyes should be fountains of tears." "God has many ways of turning a fruitful land into barrenness for the wickedness of those that dwell therein" "Lewdness & uncleanness constituted that crying sin of Sodom at which righteous Lot was vexed in soul, & it is a sin that renders men loathsome in the eyes of God & all good men; it makes men an abomination." "Those that will be faithful to the truth must be valiant for it, & not be daunted by the opposition given to it, nor fear the face of man." "Men's ignorance of God is the cause of all their ill conduct one towards another." "Those that will not know God as their lawgiver shall be made to know him as their Judge." "When God afflicts his people, it is with a gracious design to mollify & reform them" "...sinners must be weepers" "All human force is nothing without God, worse than nothing against him." "Those that refused to know God (v. 6) will boast in vain of their wisdom & wealth" "We may glory in this, that, wherever we are, we have an acquaintance with & an interest in a God that exercises lovingkindness, & judgment, & righteousness in the earth, that is not only just to all his creatures & will do no wrong to any of them, but kind to all the children & will protect them & provide for them." "The Judge of all the earth is impartial" CHAPTER 10 "A solemn charge given to the people of God not to conform themselves to the ways & customs of the heathen." "It ill becomes those that are taught of God to learn the way of the heathen, & to think of worshipping the true God with such rites & ceremonies as they used in the worship of their false gods." "They are worshipped as the gods that gave us breath & life & sense, whereas they are lifeless senseless things themselves, & there is no breath in them; there is no spirit in them... they are not animated, or inhabited, as they are supposed to be, by any divine spirit" "The God of Israel is the one only living & true God, & those that have him for their God need not make their application to any other" "There is an admirable decency & congruity in the worshipping of God only. It is fit that he who is God alone should alone be served, that he who is Lord of all should be served by all, that he who is great should be greatly feared & greatly praised." "The gods of the heathen are dead things, worthless & useless, but ours is a living God & hath immortality." "The God we worship is he that made the heavens & the earth, & has a sovereign dominion over both" "While the heathen worship gods that they made, we worship the God that made us & all things" "There is no sort of weather but what furnishes us with a proof & instance of the wisdom & power of the great Creator." "Those that have the Lord for their God have a full & complete happiness in him." "Sooner or later sinners will find it just as the word of God has represented things to them" "Those are brutish people that do not seek the Lord, that live without prayer, & live without God in the world." "Those cannot expect to prosper who do not by faith & prayer take God along with them in all their ways." "We cannot of ourselves do any thing for our own relief, unless God work with us & command deliverance for us" "We are not masters of our own way, nor can we think that everything should be according to our mind; we must therefore refer ourselves to God & acquiesce in his will." "Those that restrain prayer prove that they know not God; for those that know him will seek to him & entreat his favour." CHAPTER 11 "God keeps an account how long we have enjoyed the means of grace & how powerful those means have been, how often we have been not only spoken to, but protested to, concerning our duty." "The words of the covenant shall not fall to the ground." "Those that will not submit to God's government shall not be able to escape his wrath." "Evil pursues sinners & entangles them in snares out of which they cannot extricate themselves." "Those that have so far thrown themselves out of God's favour that he will not hear their prayers cannot expect benefit by the prayers of others for them." "Every sin against God is a sin against ourselves, & so it will be found sooner or later." "It is matter of comfort to us, when men deal unjustly with us, that we have a God to go to who does & will plead the cause of injured innocency & appear against the injurious." "Their condition is sad who have the prayers of good ministers & good people against them." CHAPTER 12 "When we are most in the dark concerning the meaning of God's dispensations we must still resolve to keep up right thoughts of God, & must be confident of this, that he never did, nor ever will do, the least wrong to any of his creatures" "We are as our hearts are, & our hearts are good or bad according as they are, or are not, towards God; & this is that therefore concerning which we should examine ourselves, that we may approve ourselves to God." "The God with whom we have to do perfectly knows how our hearts are towards him." "Ministers have lessons to learn as well as lessons to teach, & must themselves hear God's voice & preach to themselves." "While we are in this world we must expect troubles & difficulties." "God has a kindness & concern for his church, though there be much amiss in it" "When all flesh have corrupted their way, no flesh shall have peace; those only have peace that walk after the Spirit." "Those that would have their lot with God's people, & their last end like theirs, must learn their ways & walk in them, must observe the rule they walk by & conform to that rule, must notice the steps they take by that rule & go forth by those footsteps." "Those that diligently learn the ways of God's people shall enjoy the privileges & comforts of his people." "Those that will not be ruled by the grace of God shall be ruined by the justice of God." Matthew Henry's Commentary: Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 464 - 490. CHAPTER 5
"When the faithful thus cease & fail it is time to cry, Woe is me! (Mic. 7:1, 2), high time to cry, Help, Lord. Psalms 12:1" "Prevailing ignorance is the lamentable cause of abounding impiety & iniquity. What can one expect but works of darkness from brutish, sottish people that know nothing of God... but choose to sit in darkness?" "...spiritual whoredom, giving that honour to idols which is due to God only" "Because they had forsaken God & served idols, he gave them up to vile affections" "Sinners have reason to expect punishment upon the account of God's holiness, to which sin is highly offensive." "They forsook the worship of him, & therein violated their covenants with him; they revolted from him, & played the hypocrite with him." "Multitudes are ruined by being made to believe that God will not be so strict with them as his word says he will" "Sinners by sin make themselves fuel to that wrath of God which is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness & unrighteousness of men in the scripture. The word of God will certainly be too hard for those that contend with it. Those shall break who will not bow before it." "What is not of God cannot stand" "God has all nations at his command, does what he pleases with them & makes what use he pleases of them." "It is just with God to impoverish that which we make our confidence" "If you would but keep up an awe of God, you would be more observant of what he says to you" "...he is a God of almighty power & universal sovereignty, & therefore to be feared & had in reverence." "We must fear the Lord our God, that is, we must worship him, & give him glory, & be always in care to keep ourselves in his love, because he is continually doing us good" "It is sin that stops the current of God's favours to us, & deprives us of the blessings we need to receive. It is that which makes the heavens as brass & the earth as iron." "...the end of a wicked life will come, when it will be all called over again, & without doubt will be bitterness in the latter end." CHAPTER 6 "...it is in vain to contend with God's judgments." "The day is coming when those that are careless & secure in sinful ways will certainly be visited." "It is folly to trifle when we have an eternal salvation to work out, & the enemies of that salvation to fight against." "He that is the common Parent of mankind regards & resents, & sooner or later will revenge, the mischiefs & wrongs that men do to one another." "Those whom God forsakes are certainly undone; when God's soul departs from Jerusalem she soon becomes desolate & uninhabited." "When ministers preach the terrors of the Lord according to the scripture we have no reason to be displeased at them; for they are but messengers, & must deliver their message, pleasing or unpleasing." "Those are to be reckoned our false friends (that is, our worst & most dangerous enemies) who flatter us in a sinful way." "Those that are shameless are graceless & their case is hopeless." "O that men would be thus wise for their souls, & would ponder the path of their feet" "Ask for the old paths, the paths prescribed by the law of God, the written word, that true standard of antiquity." "When you have found out which is the good way, walk therein, practise accordingly, keep closely to that way, proceed, & persevere in it." "Though it cost you some pains to walk in that way, you will find an abundant recompense at your journey's end." "The reason why sinners perish is because they do not hearken to the sound of the trumpet" "God designs their ruin because they hate to be reformed." "What can those hope to do for themselves who have made God their enemy?" "As saints may rejoice in hope of God's mercies, though they see them only in the promise, so sinners must mourn for fear of God's judgments, though they see them only in the threatenings." "God has no pleasure in the death & ruin of sinners, for he tries all ways & methods with them to prevent their destruction & qualify them for salvation." CHAPTER 7 "Wisdom chooses to cry in the chief place of concourse, &, as Jeremiah here, in the opening of the gates, the temple-gates." "Reformation is the only way, & a sure way to prevent ruin." "They must make the tree good, & so make the fruit good, must amend their ways & doings." "The privileges of a form of godliness are often the pride & confidence of those that are strangers & enemies to the power of it." "Will you exchange a God of whose power, & goodness you have had such a long experience for gods of whose ability & willingness to help you you know nothing?" "Though men may deceive one another with the appearances of devotion, yet they cannot deceive God." "Those that tread in the steps of the wickedness of those that went before them must expect to fall by the like judgments, for all these things happened to them for ensamples." "Wherever we are cast, it is well enough, if we be kept in the love of God; but, if we are thrown out of his favour, our case is miserable though we dwell in our own land." "If you will not hear us when we speak from God to you, God will not hear us when we speak to him for you." "Praying breath is too precious a thing to be lost & thrown away upon a people hardened in sin & marked for ruin." "Let us honour him with our substance, as those that have our subsistence from him, & eat & drink to the glory of him from whom we have our meat & drink." "Let God's will be your rule & his favour shall be your felicity." "Idolatry was the sin which was above all other sins evil in God's sight." "Sin makes those the generation of God's wrath that had been the generation of his love." "...those that will not by the grace of God be cured of their vain mirth shall by the justice of God be deprived of all mirth" "God can soon mar the mirth of the most jovial, & make it to cease, which is a reason why we should always rejoice with trembling, be merry & wise." CHAPTER 8 "What ever we make a god of but the true God only, it will stand us in no stead on the other side death & the grave" "No man in his wits will go in a way that he knows will never bring him to his journey's end; why then has this people slidden back by a perpetual backsliding?" "True repentance begins in a serious & impartial enquiry into ourselves, what we have done, arising from a conviction that we have done amiss." "Those that have more knowledge than others, & yet do no better than others for their own souls, have reason to be ashamed." "...God came looking for grapes from this vineyard, seeking fruit upon this fig-tree, but he found none" "God's gifts are upon condition, & revocable upon non-performance of the condition. Mercies abused are forfeited..." "Is there no balm in Gilead - no physician there? Yes, certainly there is; God is able to help & heal them, there is a sufficiency in him to redress all their grievances." "If sinners die of their wounds, their blood is upon their own heads. The blood of Christ is balm in Gilead, his Spirit is the physician there, both sufficient, all-sufficient, so that they might have been healed, but would not." Matthew Henry's Commentary: Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 433 - 464. |
AuthorCross Preaching Pentecostal Pastor. Husband to Tonia, Father to 3 beautiful girls, Monica, Zoe & Briana, & Grandfather to Wesley & Elliott Archives
September 2023
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