Isaiah 25

1 Lord, thou art my God, I shall enhance thee, and I shall acknowledge to thy name; for thou hast done marvels, thine eld faithful thoughts. Amen. (Lord, thou art my God, I shall exalt thee, and I shall praise thy name; for thou hast done marvellous things, thou art faithful to thy thoughts of old. Amen.)

2 For thou hast set the city into a burial, a strong city into falling, the house of aliens (yea, the house of foreigners, or of strangers), (so) that it be not a city, and be not builded (again) without end.

3 For this thing a strong people shall praise thee, the city of strong folks shall dread thee. (For this thing strong people shall praise thee, and the cities of strong nations shall fear thee.)

4 For thou art made strength to a poor man, strength to a needy man in his tribulation, hope from [the] whirlwind, a shadowing place from heat; for why the spirit of strong men is as a whirlwind hurling the wall. (For thou art made strength to the poor, strength to the needy in their tribulation, hope from the whirlwind, a place of shadow, or of shade, from the heat; for the blast of the strong, or of the ruthless, is like a whirlwind hurtling against the wall.)

5 As by heat in thirst, thou shalt make meek the noise of aliens; and as by heat under a cloud burning, thou shalt make the scions of strong men to fade. (Like with the heat in thirst, thou shalt make the noise of the foreigners to be meeked, or subdued; and like with the heat under a burning cloud, thou shalt make the offspring of the strong, or of the ruthless, to fade away, or to die.)

6 And the Lord of hosts shall make in this hill to all peoples the feast of fat things, the feast of vintage of fat things full of marrow, of vintage well-refined. (And on this hill the Lord of hosts shall make the feast of fat things for all peoples, the feast of the vintage of fat things full of marrow, yea, of well-refined wine.)

7 And he shall cast down in this hill the face of [the] bond, bound (al)together on all peoples, and the web which he weaved on all nations. (And he shall throw down on this hill the covering cast over all the peoples, and the web which he weaved upon all the nations.)

8 And he shall cast down death [into] without end, and the Lord God shall do away each tear from each face; and he shall do away the shame of his people from each land, for the Lord spake. (Yea, he shall throw down death forever, and the Lord God shall do away every tear from every face; and he shall do away the shame of his people from every land, for the Lord spoke.)

9 And they shall say in that day, Lo! this is our God; we abided him, and he shall save us; this is the Lord; we suffered him, and we shall make full out joy, and shall be glad in his health. (And they shall say on that day, Lo! this is our God; we have waited for him, for he shall save us; this is the Lord; we have waited for him, and now we shall rejoice, and shall be happy for his deliverance.)

10 For why the hand of the Lord shall rest in this hill, and Moab shall be threshed under him, as chaffs be stamped in a wain. (For the hand of the Lord shall rest upon this mountain, and Moab shall be threshed under him, like chaff is stamped in a wagon.)

11 And he shall stretch forth his hands under him, as a swimmer stretcheth forth to swim; and he shall make low the glory of him with [the] hurtling down of his hands.

12 And the strongholds of thine high walls shall fall down, and shall be made low, and shall be drawn down to the earth, till to the dust. (And thy fortresses with high walls shall fall down, and shall be made low, and shall be drawn down to the ground, unto the dust.)

Isaiah 25 Commentary

Chapter 25

A song of praise. (1-5) A declaration of the gospel blessings. (6-8) The destruction of the enemies of Christ's church. (9-12)

Verses 1-5 However this might show the deliverance of the Jews out of captivity, it looked further, to the praises that should be offered up to God for Christ's victories over our spiritual enemies, and the comforts he has provided for all believers. True faith simply credits the Lord's testimony, and relies on his truth to perform his promises. As God weakens the strong who are proud and secure, so he strengthens the weak that are humble, and stay themselves upon him. God protects his people in all weathers. The Lord shelters those who trust in him from the insolence of oppressors. Their insolence is but the noise of strangers; it is like the heat of the sun scorching in the middle of the day; but where is it when the sun is set? The Lord ever was, and ever will be, the Refuge of distressed believers. Having provided them a shelter, he teaches them to flee unto it.

Verses 6-8 The kind reception of repentant sinners, is often in the New Testament likened to a feast. The guests invited are all people, Gentiles as well as Jews. There is that in the gospel which strengthens and makes glad the heart, and is fit for those who are under convictions of sin, and mourning for it. There is a veil spread over all nations, for all sat in darkness. But this veil the Lord will destroy, by the light of his gospel shining in the world, and the power of his Spirit opening men's eyes to receive it. He will raise those to spiritual life who were long dead in trespasses and sins. Christ will himself, in his resurrection, triumph over death. Grief shall be banished; there shall be perfect and endless joy. Those that mourn for sin shall be comforted. Those who suffer for Christ shall have consolations. But in the joys of heaven, and not short of them, will fully be brought to pass this saying, God shall wipe away all tears. The hope of this should now do away over-sorrow, all weeping that hinders sowing. Sometimes, in this world God takes away the reproach of his people from among men; however, it will be done fully at the great day. Let us patiently bear sorrow and shame now; both will be done away shortly.

Verses 9-12 With joy and praise will those entertain the glad tidings of the Redeemer, who looked for him; and with a triumphant song will glorified saints enter into the joy of their Lord. And it is not in vain to wait for him; for the mercy comes at last, with abundant recompence for the delay. The hands once stretched out upon the cross, to make way for our salvation, will at length be stretched forth to destroy all impenitent sinners. Moab is here put for all adversaries of God's people; they shall all be trodden down or threshed. God shall bring down the pride of the enemies by one humbling judgment after another. This destruction of Moab is typical of Christ's victory, and the pulling down of Satan's strong holds. Therefore, beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; for your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 25

This chapter contains a thanksgiving, or a triumphant song, upon the destruction of antichrist, and the antichristian states, for benefits and blessings bestowed upon the church, and for the setting up of the glorious kingdom of Christ in the Jerusalem state. It begins with a form of praise, and the reason of it in general, Isa 25:1 the particular instances of wonderful things are, the ruin of a certain city described, Isa 25:2 which will issue in the fear and glory of God, Isa 25:3 the great appearance of the Lord for his poor people, in being strength, refuge, and a shadow to them, Isa 25:4,5 a rich feast made for them, Isa 25:6 the removal of the veil from all people, Isa 25:7 the abolition of death, and every affliction, Isa 25:8 the personal appearance of Christ unto salvation, Isa 25:9 the protection of the church, and the certain and utter destruction of her enemies, under the name of Moab, Isa 25:10-12