Isaiah 58:9

9 Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;

Isaiah 58:9 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 58:9

Then shall thou call, and the Lord shall answer
A spirit of grace and supplication will be poured out upon the people of God; they will then pray without a form, and call upon the Lord in sincerity and truth, with faith and fervency; and the Lord will hear and answer them, and plentifully bestow his favours on them, so that they will have no reason to complain, as in ( Isaiah 58:3 ) : thou shalt cry, and he shall say, here I am;
he will immediately appear to the help and relief of his people; they shall have his presence with them, to comfort and refresh them, to support and supply them, to protect and defend them: if thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke;
of human inventions, doctrines, rites and ceremonies, as in ( Isaiah 58:6 ) : "the putting forth of the finger"; pointing at those that could not comply with them, by way of scorn and derision, as puritans, schismatics and persecuting them for it; and so is the same with smiting with the fist of wickedness, ( Isaiah 58:4 ) ; when this deriding and persecuting spirit is done away, then, and not till then, will the prayers of a people be heard, though under a profession of religion, and under the Protestant name: and speaking vanity; which also must be taken away, or desisted from; even speaking false doctrines, as the Syriac version; or which profits not, as the Vulgate Latin version; profane and vain babblings, ( 2 Timothy 2:14 2 Timothy 2:15 ) , and threatening words, to such who will not receive them.

Isaiah 58:9 In-Context

7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.
9 Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:
11 And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
The King James Version is in the public domain.