Isaiah 59
CHAPTER 59
Isaiah 59:1-21 . THE PEOPLE'S SIN THE CAUSE OF JUDGMENTS: THEY AT LAST OWN IT THEMSELVES: THE REDEEMER'S FUTURE INTERPOSITION IN THEIR EXTREMITY.
The reason why Jehovah does not deliver His people, notwithstanding their religious services ( Isaiah 58:3 ), is not want of power on His part, but because of their sins ( Isaiah 59:1-8 ); Isaiah 59:9-15 contain their confession; Isaiah 59:16-21 , the consequent promise of the Messiah.
1. hand . . .
ear heavy--( Isaiah 6:10 ).
2. hid--Hebrew, "caused Him to hide" ( Lamentations 3:44 ).
3. ( Isaiah 1:15 Romans 3:13-15 ).
hands . . . fingers--Not merely the "hands" perpetrate deeds of grosser enormity ("blood"), but the "fingers" commit more minute acts of "iniquity."
lips . . . tongue--The lips "speak" openly "lies," the tongue "mutters" malicious insinuations ("perverseness"; perverse misrepresentations of others) ( Jeremiah 6:28 , 9:4 ).
4. Rather, "No one calleth an adversary into court with justice," that is, None bringeth a just suit: "No one pleadeth with truth."
they trust . . . iniquity--(So Job 15:35 , Psalms 7:14 ).
5. cockatrice--probably the basilisk serpent, cerastes. Instead of crushing evil in the egg, they foster it.
spider's web--This refers not to the spider's web being made to entrap, but to its thinness, as contrasted with substantial "garments," as Isaiah 59:6 shows. Their works are vain and transitory ( Job 8:14 , Proverbs 11:18 ).
eateth . . . their eggs--he who partakes in their plans, or has anything to do with them, finds them pestiferous.
that which is crushed--The egg, when it is broken, breaketh out as a viper; their plans, however specious in their undeveloped form like the egg, when developed, are found pernicious. Though the viper is viviparous (from which "vi-per" is derived), yet during gestation, the young are included in eggs, which break at the birth [BOCHART]; however, metaphors often combine things without representing everything to the life.
6. not . . . garments--like the "fig leaves" wherewith Adam and Eve vainly tried to cover their shame, as contrasted with "the coats of skins" which the Lord God made to clothe them with ( Isaiah 64:6 , Romans 13:14 , Galatians 3:27 , Philippians 3:9 ). The artificial self-deceiving sophisms of human philosophy ( 1 Timothy 6:5 , 2 Timothy 2:16 2 Timothy 2:23 ).
7. feet--All their members are active in evil; in Isaiah 59:3 , the "hands, fingers, lips, and tongue," are specified.
run . . . haste--( Romans 3:15 ). Contrast David's "running and hasting" in the ways of God ( Psalms 119:32 Psalms 119:60 ).
thoughts--not merely their acts, but their whole thoughts.
8. peace--whether in relation to God, to their own conscience, or to their fellow men ( Isaiah 57:20 Isaiah 57:21 ).
judgment--justice.
crooked--the opposite of "straightforward" ( Proverbs 2:15 , 28:18 ).