Isaiah 30:18

The Lord Will Be Gracious

18 Therefore the Lord ¹waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he ²exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; ³blessed are all those who wait for him.

Isaiah 30:18 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 30:18

And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious
unto you
Or "yet" ^F17, or "nevertheless" though such an utter destruction shall be made, there are a few that the Lord has a good will unto, and therefore waits till the set time comes to arise and have mercy on them; he has taken up thoughts and resolutions of grace and favour concerning them, and has fixed the time when he will show it; and he is, as it were, panting and longing after it, as the word

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FOOTNOTES:

F18 used signifies, as some have observed, until it is up; he waits for the fittest and most proper time to show mercy; when things are brought to the worst, to the greatest extremity, and when his people are brought to a sense of their danger, and of their sins, and to repentance for them, and to see their need of his help and salvation, and to implore it, and to depend upon him for it; then, in the mount of difficulty, and in the most seasonable time, does the Lord appear; and hereby the mercy is the sweeter to them, and his grace is the more magnified towards them: so he waits to be gracious to his people in conversion; he is gracious before; he is of a gracious disposition; he is inclined, nay, resolved, to show favour to them; yea, he has done various acts of grace before, such as their election in Christ, the provision of a Saviour for them in the covenant, putting all grace into his hands for them, the redemption of them by him, and the adoption of them into his family; but in conversion there is an open exhibition and display of the grace of God; much grace is then shown in applying pardoning grace, a justifying righteousness, and salvation by Christ unto them; by many love visits, and by opening the treasures of his grace unto them, as well as by implanting much grace in them, as faith, hope, love, and every other: now there is a fixed time for all this; and, until that time comes, the Lord waits to be gracious; this is his longsuffering towards his elect, which issues in their salvation; he does not cut them off in their sins; he bears much and long with them, and, as it were, longs till the time comes to unbosom himself to them, and bestow his favours on them; and so, after conversion, he waits and observes the fittest time to deliver them out of afflictions, temptations and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you;
or, "will exalt himself" ^F19; raise up himself, who seemed to be asleep, and careless of his people, and rise up against their enemies, and in defence of them, which is showing mercy to them; or be exalted on his throne of grace, that he may give, and they may find, grace and mercy to help them in time of need: or, "he will exalt", or "lift up"; that is, his Son; so he was lifted up on the cross, that his people might be drawn after him, and saved by him; and he has also exalted him at his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance unto Israel and forgiveness of sins; and he is now lifted up as the serpent on the pole in the ministry of the word, that whosoever believes in him should have everlasting life; so that these exaltations, or lifting up, are in order to have mercy; and his waiting to be gracious is by the Jews ^F20 interpreted of his desire after the Messiah's coming, and his waiting for that: or, "he will be exalted, in", or "by, having mercy on you" ^F21; the glory of God is displayed in showing mercy to his people; they are engaged and influenced hereby to glorify God for his mercy, both in things temporal and spiritual. The word <arabic> in the Arabic language, as Schultens observes ^F23, signifies to "desire" ^F24; and this will make the words run smoothly in agreement with the former; "and therefore", or "nevertheless, will he desire to have mercy on you"; which denotes the Lord's good will to his people, and how much his heart, and the desires of it, are towards them: for the Lord [is] a God of judgment;
or, "though he is a God of judgment" ^F25, of strict justice, judges in the earth, and will judge the world in righteousness; see ( Malachi 2:17 ) his grace, mercy, and justice, agree together, in redemption justification, pardon of sin, and salvation: or of moderation, clemency, and grace to correct his people; he corrects them not in wrath and hot displeasure, but in judgment, in a tender and fatherly way and manner, ( Jeremiah 10:24 ) and he is a God of "discretion", ( Psalms 112:5 ) of wisdom and knowledge, and does all things after the counsel of his will; he has fixed upon the proper time, and he knows which is the best time, and he waits that time to show grace and mercy to his people: blessed [are] all they that wait for him;
that do not run here and there for help, and are tumultuous, restless, and impatient, but wait God's own time to do them good; that wait for his gracious presence, and the discoveries of his love, for the performance of his promises, for answers of prayer, for all blessings temporal and spiritual, and for eternal glory and happiness; these are happy persons, all and every one of them; they enjoy much now, and it can not be said, nor conceived, what God has prepared for them hereafter; see ( Isaiah 49:23 ) ( Isaiah 64:4 ) .
F17 (Nkl) "nihilominus, tamen"; so Noldius, Ebr. Concord. Part. p. 507. in the same way Gataker.
F18 (hkx) "significat anhelat, vel inhiat", Forerius.
F19 (Myry Nklw) "et propterea exaltabit se", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; "elaturus est se", Junius & Tremellius.
F20 Gloss, in T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 97. 2.
F21 (Mkmxrl) "dum miserabitur vestri"; so some in Vatablus.
F23 Animadv. Philolog. in Job. p. 56.
F24 <arabic> "mavit rem", Golius, col. 922. "quaesivit, expetivit, voluit", Castel. col. 3551.
F25 (yk) "quamvis", so this particle is often used; see Noldius, p. 399.

Isaiah 30:18 In-Context

16 and you said, “No! We will flee upon horses”; therefore you shall flee away; and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”; therefore your pursuers shall be swift.

17 A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill.

18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.

19 For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you.

20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.

Cross References

• 1. 30:18 [Hab. 2:3]
• 2. 30:18 ch. 5:16
• 3. 30:18 Ps. 2:12; 34:8; Prov. 16:20; Jer. 17:7