Isaiah 33:5-15

5 The Lord is lifted up; his place is on high: he has made Zion full of righteousness and true religion.

6 And she will have no more fear of change, being full of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge: the fear of the Lord is her wealth.

7 See, the men of war are sorrowing outside the town: those who came looking for peace are weeping bitterly.

8 The highways are waste, no man is journeying there: the agreement is broken, he has made sport of the towns, he has no thought for man.

9 The earth is sorrowing and wasting away; Lebanon is put to shame and has become waste; Sharon is like the Arabah; and in Bashan and Carmel the leaves are falling.

10 Now will I come forward, says the Lord; now will I be lifted up; now will my power be seen.

11 Your designs will be without profit, and their effect will be nothing: you will be burned up by the fire of my breath.

12 And the peoples will be like the burning of chalk: as thorns cut down, which are burned in the fire.

13 Give ear, you who are far off, to what I have done: see my power, you who are near.

14 The sinners in Zion are full of fear; the haters of God are shaking with wonder. Who among us may keep his place before the burning fire? who among us may see the eternal burnings?

15 He whose ways are true, and whose words are upright; he who gives no thought to the profits of false acts, whose hands have not taken rewards, who will have no part in putting men to death, and whose eyes are shut against evil;

Isaiah 33:5-15 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 33

This chapter contains an account of God's judgments upon the enemies of his people, and of the peaceable, comfortable, and happy state of the church in the latter day. The judgment denounced, Isa 33:1 a prayer of the church for safety and protection, which it promises itself from what God had heretofore done, Isa 33:2,3 an answer to it, declaring the spoil of the enemy, and the happy times the people of God should enjoy through his appearance for them, Isa 33:4-6 though previous thereunto there would be very distressing ones, Isa 33:7-9 when the Lord resolves to arise and exert his power in the destruction of the people, who should be burnt up like stubble, thorns, and lime, Isa 33:10-12 persons far and near are called upon to take notice of this, Isa 33:13 which would issue in a different manner, in the surprise and terror of hypocrites, and in the safety and plenty of provisions for good men, who are described, Isa 33:14-16 and then follow promises to them, of seeing the King in his beauty, and beholding a distant country of reflecting on past terror with pleasure, being freed from it, and in no danger of a foreign enemy, Isa 33:17-19 and the chapter is concluded with a famous prophecy of the peace, prosperity, and safety of the church, and of the healthfulness of its inhabitants, under the protection of Christ, its King and Lawgiver, its enemies being also an easy prey to it, Isa 33:20-24.