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This chapter relates to the same events as the foregoing chapter, the distress of Judah and Jerusalem by Sennacherib's invasion and their deliverance out of that distress by the destruction of the Assyrian army. These are intermixed in the prophecy, in the way of a Pindaric. Observe, I. The great distress that Judah and Jerusalem should then be brought into, Isa 33:7-9. II. The particular frights which the sinners in Zion should then be in, Isa 33:13,14. III. The prayers of good people to God in this distress, Isa 33:2. IV. The holy security which they should enjoy in the midst of this trouble, Isa 33:15,16. V. The destruction of the army of the Assyrians (Isa 33:1-3), in which God would be greatly glorified, Isa 33:5,10-12. VI. The enriching of the Jews with the spoil of the Assyrian camp, Isa 33:4,23,24. VII. The happy settlement of Jerusalem, and the Jewish state, upon this. Religion shall be uppermost (Isa 33:6), and their civil state shall flourish, Isa 33:17-22. This was soon fulfilled, but is written for our learning.
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Assyria Threatened (710 BC)
繁體中文
亞述受威脅 (710 BC)
¹ 禍哉！你這毀滅人的，你卻未被毀滅；你這行事詭詐的，人卻未以詭詐待你！你停止毀滅之時，你必被毀滅；你停止行詭詐之時，人必以詭詐待你。
² 耶和華啊，求你施恩於我們；我們等候你。求你每早晨作他們的膀臂，也在患難之時作我們的拯救。
³ 喧嚷之聲一響，百姓便逃跑；你一興起，列國便四散。
⁴ 你們所掠之物必如毛蟲聚集那樣被聚集；如蝗蟲蹦跳那樣，他必在他們上面蹦跳。
⁵ 耶和華被尊崇；因他居在高處。他以公平和公義充滿錫安。
⁶ 你必以智慧知識為你時代的穩定，和拯救的力量；敬畏耶和華是他的財寶。
⁷ 看哪，他們的勇士必在外頭哀哭；求和的使臣必痛痛哭泣。
⁸ 大路荒涼，行人止息；他背了約，他藐視城邑，他不顧念人。
⁹ 地悲哀衰殘；利巴嫩慚愧被砍伐；沙崙如同曠野；巴珊和迦密抖落它們的果子。
¹⁰ 耶和華說：現在我必興起；現在我必被尊崇；現在我必升高自己。
¹¹ 你們必懷上糠秕，生下碎稭；你們的氣如火，必吞滅你們。
¹² 百姓必如石灰的燃燒；如被砍下的荊棘，他們必在火中被焚燒。
此處我們看到，
I. 那驕傲詭詐的亞述人因他一切的欺詐與強暴而受公義的追討，被置於禍哉之下（賽33:1）。請看，1. 仇敵所犯之罪。他劫掠了神的百姓，以他們為掠物，在其中違背了他與他們所立的和平之約，行事詭詐。真理與憐憫是兩樣如此神聖之物，其中大有神的成分，以致那些對兩者都毫不在乎——既不顧自己所造成的傷害與禍患，也不顧自己所偽裝的欺瞞，更不顧自己所違背的莊嚴約定——為達成自己邪惡目的的人，不能不在神的震怒之下。流血弄詭詐的人是至惡之人。2. 這罪惡的加重情節。他劫掠了那些從未加害於他、他也無故與之相爭的人，又詭詐地對待那些素來以誠信待他的人。請注意，我們從人所得的挑釁越少而去行錯事，我們因行這事而加給神的冒犯就越多。3. 他因這罪所要承受的刑罰。那劫掠了猶大諸城的人，自己的軍隊要被天使所滅，他的營盤要被他所劫掠的人所洗劫。迦勒底人必詭詐地對待亞述人並背叛他們。西拿基立自己的兩個兒子必詭詐地對待他，在他敬拜之時卑鄙地謀殺他。請注意，公義的神常以罪人之道還治其身。擄掠人的必被擄掠（啟13:10，18:6）。4. 他何時要如此被對待。當他停止毀滅、停止行詭詐之時——不是藉悔改歸正（那本可阻止他的毀滅，但4:27），而是當他行盡了最壞之事，當他走到了神所容許他到的地步，到了他繫繩的盡頭之時，那時震怒之杯便要遞到他手中。當他在不敬虔上達到了身量的極致、填滿了他罪孽的量度之時，那時一切都要重新清算。當他做完了，神便要開始，因為他的日子將到。
II. 禱告的神百姓在施恩座前懇切為如今在患難中的這地求憐憫（賽33:2）：「耶和華啊！求你施恩於我們。人殘忍；求你恩待。我們招惹了你的怒氣，但我們懇求你的恩寵；我們若能得你對我們開恩，我們便有福了；我們所處的患難不能傷害我們，也不至毀滅我們。指望從受造之物得解救是徒然的；我們對埃及人毫無信靠，我們卻等候你，定意無論這患難的結果如何都順服你，並盼望那是一個令人得安慰的結果。」 那些憑信謙卑等候神的人，必尋見他向他們施恩。他們禱告，1. 為那些為他們服兵役的人：「求你每早晨作他們的膀臂。希西家、他的首領、以及一切勇士，需要從你不斷支取的力量與勇氣；因此供應他們所需，作他們全足的神。每早晨當他們出去辦當日之工，或許有新的任務要做、新的困難要面對之時，讓他們重新得著振奮與活力，日頭如何，力量也當如何。」 在我們屬靈的爭戰中，我們自己的手不足以成事，除非神不僅堅固我們的膀臂（創49:24），更親自成為我們的膀臂，我們什麼也不能作成；我們每早晨如此完全地仰賴他作我們的膀臂，如此不斷地仰賴他的能力——正如他的憐憫每早晨都是新的（哀3:23）。神若在某個早晨任憑我們靠自己，我們便滅亡了；因此我們每早晨當將自己交託他，靠他的力量出去做當日當做之工。2. 為全體百姓：「求你也在患難之時作我們的拯救」——我們這些安然坐定、不冒險進入戰場的人。他們不僅以神為拯救者，為他們施行拯救，更以他為拯救本身；因為無論屬世的利益如何，只要他作他們的神，他們便算自己安全、已蒙拯救。他若承擔作他們的拯救者，他必作他們的拯救；因為至於神，他的作為是完全的。有人如此讀：「你這每早晨作他們膀臂的——你這我們列祖素常的力量與幫助——求你也在患難之時作我們的拯救。求你如幫助他們那樣幫助我們；他們仰望他便蒙光照（詩34:5）；那麼讓我們不要在黑暗中行。」
III. 亞述大軍被殲滅，其營盤成為猶大和耶路撒冷豐富卻廉價而易得的掠物。禱告一發出（賽33:2），便立刻蒙允（賽33:3），不，更是超過所求。他們求神拯救他們脫離仇敵；但他所做的遠不止此；他使他們勝過仇敵，並有充足的理由誇勝；因為 1. 亞述營盤的力量被瓦解了（賽33:3），那時滅命天使擊殺了他們中間數以萬計的人：喧嚷之聲一響——垂死者的慘叫之聲（我們可以推想他們並非無聲地死去）——其餘的百姓便逃跑，各人各自逃命。當神如此興起自己之時，組成軍隊的各國各族、各宗各族便四散了。當這場史無前例的瘟疫在他們中間爆發之時，正是振作之時。當神興起，他的仇敵便四散（詩68:1）。2. 亞述營盤的掠物被奪取，作為猶大一切堅固城荒涼的報復（賽33:4）：你們所掠之物——耶路撒冷的居民必如毛蟲聚集那樣奪取——如蝗蟲蹦跳那樣，就是說，劫掠者要如一群毛蟲或蝗蟲使一塊田或一棵樹光禿那樣，輕易而迅速地作亞述財物的主人。如此罪人的財富為義人積存，以色列也因埃及的掠物而致富。有人認為亞述人是那些毛蟲和蝗蟲，他們被殺之後如埃及的青蛙一般堆聚成堆，被人蹦跳踐踏成泥。
IV. 神和他的以色列因此得著榮耀與高舉。當仇敵的掠物如此被奪取之時，1. 神要因此得著讚美（賽33:5）：耶和華被尊崇。 他的榮耀正是在於降卑驕傲的人，將他們一同掩埋在塵土之中；如此他尊崇自己的名，他的百姓也將榮耀歸給他，正如以色列人當埃及人被淹沒之時所行的（出15:1,2等）。他被尊崇，如同那居住在高處的，超出他們褻瀆的範圍，對他們有統管一切的權柄，並在他們行事驕傲之處樂意彰顯自己在他們之上——他隨己意行事，他們不能抗拒。2. 他的百姓要因此得著福分。當神興起自己以驅散那些與耶路撒冷結盟反對的列國之時（賽33:3），那時作為此事的預備，或作為其果子與結果，他以公平和公義充滿錫安——不僅是對公義的意識，更是對公義的熱忱，以及一種使公義得以妥善施行的普遍關懷。它必再被稱為公義之城（賽1:26）。在此，神的恩典被高舉，正如他的護理在毀滅亞述軍隊一事上被高舉一樣。當神以公平公義充滿一群百姓之時——當各階層的人、他們一切的行動與事務都受公平公義治理，且他們如此充滿其中，以致沒有別的考慮能擠進來左右他們違背這些之時——我們便可以斷定神對那百姓存有憐憫。希西家和他的百姓受鼓勵（賽33:6），蒙確據保證神必在他們的患難中與他們同在。此處，（一）神賜下恩典的應許，讓他們可以信靠：你必以智慧知識為你時代的穩定，和拯救的力量。 這裡提出了一個可羨慕的目標，就是時代的穩定——國內的事務不致被擾亂動搖——以及拯救的力量——從國外的仇敵中得著拯救並勝過他們。神為他百姓所定規的拯救帶著力量；它是拯救的角。而達成這目標的途徑與方法在此——智慧知識——不僅是敬虔，更是精明。那才是藉著神的祝福成為時代的穩定與拯救之力量的東西——那先是清潔、後是和平的智慧，那為公益犧牲私利的智慧；如此的精明必堅立真理與和平，並鞏固防禦這些的工事。（二）這裡有一條敬虔的治國箴言，供希西家和他的百姓遵行：敬畏耶和華是他的財寶。 它是神在世上所得進貢的財寶；或更確切地說，它是君王的財寶。敬虔的君王如此看待它（智慧勝過金子），也必如此發現它。請注意，真實的宗教是任何君王或百姓真正的財寶；它使他們被稱為富足。那些擁有豐盛聖經、傳道人和敬虔之人的地方實在是富足的；而它也有助於使一個國家在今世富足。因此百姓的利益在於在他們中間扶持宗教，並防備一切威脅阻礙它的事物。
V. 描述耶路撒冷所陷入的大患難，使那些信先知的人可以預先知道將要來的艱難並為之預備，也使前述拯救的應許得著應驗之時，他們對自身絕境的記憶可以幫助他們在其中更加尊崇神，也更加感恩（賽33:7-9）。此處預告，1. 仇敵必極其傲慢粗暴，無法與他打交道——無論是藉和平條約（因為他毫無顧忌地背了約，彷彿信守諾言有損他的身分），還是藉戰爭的準備，因為他藐視諸城；他藐於理會他們向公義的上訴或求憐的請願。他如此輕易地作了他們的主人（雖然他們被稱為堅固城），又遭遇如此少的抵抗，以致他藐視他們，在盡行屠戮之時毫無憐恤；因為他不顧念人——既不敬畏神，也不顧念人，對每一個人都傲慢專橫。有人以踐踏全人類為榮，對尊貴的既無敬意，對悲慘的也無憐憫。2. 因此他必不能被帶到任何和解的條件：耶路撒冷的勇士，因無力向他們證明自己的立場，只好甘心被喧嚷和傲慢所壓倒，這將使他們在外頭哀哭，因為他們不能如對一個公正的對手那樣為國效力。希西家所派去求和的使臣，見他如此傲慢、無法理喻，必痛痛哭泣——因所遇談判中的挫折而哀傷；他們必如孩童般哭泣，如同絕望於尋得任何安撫他的權宜之計。3. 那地要因他的軍隊而暫時完全荒涼。（一）無人敢行在路上；於是貿易商業停頓，更糟的是無人能安全地上耶路撒冷守嚴肅會：大路荒涼。 當田地如大路一般荒涼、被人踐踏之時，大路卻如田地一般荒涼、無人行走，因為行人止息。（二）無人從田地得利益（賽33:9）。地素來因自己的出產為服事神的以色列人而歡喜，如今以色列的仇敵卻吃盡或踐踏了它們：它悲哀衰殘；鄉村看起來淒涼，鄉下人面容悲苦，缺少自己和家人所需的食物；素常收割的歡樂變成了哀哭，世上一切的歡樂都是如此枯萎而不定。荒涼是普遍的。那屬於十個支派的那部分國土已經荒涼：「利巴嫩」以香柏樹著稱，「沙崙」以玫瑰著稱，「巴珊」以牛群著稱，「迦密」以五穀著稱，這一切都極其豐饒，如今都變得如曠野一般，「慚愧」被稱為舊日的名字，因為它們與從前如此不同。它們在未熟之先便抖落果子到劫掠者手中——那本當由主人按時採摘的果子。
VI. 神終於在榮耀中出現，反對他那驕傲的入侵者（賽33:10）。當事情被帶到如此絕境之時，1. 神要尊崇自己。他似乎一直坐著如一個漠然的旁觀者：「但現在我必興起，這是耶和華說的； 現在我必出現並行事，在其中我不僅要被證實，更被尊崇。」* 他不僅要證明地上有一位施行審判的神，更要證明他是統管萬有的神，高於至高者。「現在我必升高自己，必預備行動，必奮力行事，並在其中得榮耀。」 神為他百姓出現的時間，正是在他們的事務降到最低潮、他們的力量消逝、無人被困、無人留下之時（申32:36）。當一切幫助者都失敗之時，便是神幫助的時候。2. 他要使亞述人傾覆：「你們，亞述人啊！滿心盼望要將耶路撒冷的一切財富據為己有，迫不及待要如此；但你們的一切指望都要落空：你們必懷上糠秕，生下碎稭，」 那不僅毫無價值、一無是處，更是易燃之物，正合火的燃料，當你們自己的氣如火吞滅你們之時，它便不能逃脫——那氣就是神因你們罪惡之氣——你們對神百姓所發出的惡毒之氣、威嚇與殺戮——所引發的震怒之氣——必吞滅你們，還有你們對神和他名的褻瀆之氣。神要使你們自己的舌頭落在你們頭上，你們自己的氣吹燃那要吞噬你們的火；那麼百姓如石灰的燃燒——齊聲著火、一同燃燒——以及如被砍下的荊棘——既乾且枯，因此易於著火、很快燒盡——也就不足為奇了。亞述大軍的毀滅正是如此；它如同荊棘的焚燒（那些荊棘無人惋惜），又如石灰的燃燒（燒了反倒有用）。那軍隊的焚燒以神大能的認識照亮了世界，使他的名閃閃發光。
英文原文
Assyria Threatened (710 BC)
¹ Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.
² O LORD, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.
³ At the noise of the tumult the people fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations were scattered.
⁴ And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpillar: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them.
⁵ The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness.
⁶ And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.
⁷ Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without: the ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.
⁸ The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.
⁹ The earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.
¹⁰ Now will I rise, saith the LORD; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself.
¹¹ Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you.
¹² And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.
Here we have,
I. The proud and false Assyrian justly reckoned with for all his fraud and violence, and laid under a woe, Isa 33:1. Observe, 1. The sin which the enemy had been guilty of. He had spoiled the people of God, and made a prey of them, and herein had broken his treaty of peace with them, and dealt treacherously. Truth and mercy are two such sacred things, and have so much of God in them, that those cannot but be under the wrath of God that make conscience of neither, but are perfectly lost to both, that care not what mischief they do, what spoil they make, what dissimulations they are guilty of, nor what solemn engagements they violate, to compass their own wicked designs. Bloody and deceitful men are the worst of men. 2. The aggravation of this sin. He spoiled those that had never done him any injury and that he had no pretence to quarrel with, and dealt treacherously with those that had always dealt faithfully with him. Note, The less provocation we have from men to do a wrong thing the more provocation we give to God by doing it. 3. The punishment he should fall under for this sin. He that spoiled the cities of Judah shall have his own army destroyed by an angel and his camp plundered by those whom he had made a prey of. The Chaldeans shall deal treacherously with the Assyrians and revolt from them. Two of Sennacherib's own sons shall deal treacherously with him and basely murder him at his devotions. Note, The righteous God often pays sinners in their own coin. He that leads into captivity shall go into captivity, Re 13:10,18:6. 4. The time when he shall be thus dealt with. When he shall make an end to spoil, and to deal treacherously, not by repentance and reformation, which might prevent his ruin (Da 4:27), but when he shall have done his worst, when he shall have gone as far as God would permit him to go, to the utmost of his tether, then the cup of trembling shall be put into his hand. When he shall have arrived at his full stature in impiety, shall have filled up the measure of his iniquity, then all shall be called over again. When he has done God will begin, for his day is coming.
II. The praying people of God earnest at the throne of grace for mercy for the land now in its distress (Isa 33:2): "O Lord! be merciful to us. Men are cruel; be thou gracious. We have deserved thy wrath, but we entreat thy favour; and, if we may find the propitious to us, we are happy; the trouble we are in cannot hurt us, shall not ruin us. It is in vain to expect relief from creatures; we have no confidence in the Egyptians, but we have waited for thee only, resolving to submit to thee, whatever the issue of the trouble be, and hoping that it shall be a comfortable issue." Those that by faith humbly wait for God shall certainly find him gracious to them. They prayed, 1. For those that were employed in military services for them: "Be thou their arm every morning. Hezekiah, and his princes, and all the men of war, need continual supplies of strength and courage from thee; supply their need therefore, and be to them a God all-sufficient. Every morning, when they go forth upon the business of the day, and perhaps have new work to do and new difficulties to encounter, let them be afresh animated and invigorated, and, as the day, so let the strength be." In our spiritual warfare our own hands are not sufficient for us, nor can we bring any thing to pass unless God not only strengthen our arms (Ge 49:24), but be himself our arm; so entirely do we depend upon him as our arm every morning, so constantly do we depend upon his power, as well as his compassions, which are new every morning, La 3:23. If God leaves us to ourselves any morning, we are undone; we must therefore every morning commit ourselves to him, and go forth in his strength to do the work of the day in its day. 2. For the body of the people: "Be thou our salvation also in the time of trouble, ours who sit still, and do not venture into the high places of the field." They depend upon God not only as their Saviour, to work deliverance for them, but as their salvation itself; for, whatever becomes of their secular interests, they will reckon themselves safe and saved if they have him for their God. If he undertake to be their Saviour, he will be their salvation; for as for God his work is perfect. Some read it thus: "Thou who wast their arm every morning, who wast the continual strength and help of our fathers before us, be thou our salvation also in time of trouble. Help us as thou helpedst them; they looked unto thee and were lightened (Ps 34:5); let us then not walk in darkness."
III. The Assyrian army ruined and their camp made a rich but cheap and easy prey to Judah and Jerusalem. No sooner is the prayer made (Isa 33:2) than it is answered (Isa 33:3), nay, it is outdone. They prayed that God would save them from their enemies; but he did more than that; he gave them victory over their enemies and abundant cause to triumph; for, 1. The strength of the Assyrian camp was broken (Isa 33:3) when the destroying angel slew so many thousands of them: At the noise of the tumult, of the shrieks of the dying men (who, we may suppose, did not die silently), the rest of the people fled, and shifted every one for his own safety. When God did thus lift up himself the several nations, or clans, of which the army was composed, were scattered. It was time to stir when such an unprecedented plague broke out among them. When God arises his enemies are scattered, Ps 68:1. 2. The spoil of the Assyrian camp is seized, by way of reprisal, for all the desolations of the defenced cities of Judah (Isa 33:4): Your spoil shall be gathered by the inhabitants of Jerusalem, like the gathering of the caterpillar, and as the running to and fro of locusts, that is, the spoilers shall as easily and as quickly make themselves masters of the riches of the Assyrians as a host of caterpillars, or locusts, make a field, or a tree, bare. Thus the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just and Israel is enriched with the spoil of the Egyptians. Some make the Assyrians to be the caterpillars and locusts, which, when they are killed, are gathered together in heaps, as the frogs of Egypt, and are run upon, and trodden to dirt.
IV. God and his Israel glorified and exalted hereby. When the spoil of the enemy is thus gathered, 1. God will have the praise of it (Isa 33:5): The Lord is exalted. It is his honour thus to abase proud men, and hide them in the dust, together; thus he magnifies his own name, and his people give him the glory of it, as Israel when the Egyptians were drowned, Ex 15:1,2, etc. He is exalted as one that dwells on high, out of the reach of their blasphemies, and that has an over-ruling power over them, and wherein they deal proudly delights to show himself above them-that does what he will, and they cannot resist him. 2. His people will have the blessing of it. When God lifts up himself to scatter the nations that are in confederacy against Jerusalem (Isa 33:3) then, as a preparative for that, or as the fruit and product of it, he has filled Zion with judgment and righteousness, not only with a sense of justice, but with a zeal for it and a universal care that it be duly administered. It shall again be called, The city of righteousness, Isa 1:26. In this the grace of God is exalted, as much as his providence was in the destruction of the Assyrian army. We may conclude God has mercy in store for a people when he fills them with judgment and righteousness, when all sorts of people, and all their actions and affairs, are governed by them, and they are so full of them that no other considerations can crowd in to sway them against these. Hezekiah and his people are encouraged (Isa 33:6) with an assurance that God would stand by them in their distress. Here is, (1.) A gracious promise of God for them to stay themselves upon: Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation. Here is a desirable end proposed, and that is the stability of our times, that things be not disturbed and unhinged at home, and the strength of salvation, deliverance from, and success against, enemies abroad. The salvation that God ordains for his people has strength in it; it is a horn of salvation. And here are the way and means for obtaining this end—wisdom and knowledge, not only piety, but prudence. That is it which, by the blessing of God, will be the stability of our times and the strength of salvation, that wisdom which is first pure, then peaceable, and which sacrifices private interests to a public good; such prudence as this will establish truth and peace, and fortify the bulwarks in defence of them. (2.) A pious maxim of state for Hezekiah and his people to govern themselves by: The fear of the Lord is his treasure. It is God's treasure in the world, from which he receives his tribute; or, rather, it is the prince's treasure. A good prince accounts it so (that wisdom is better than gold) and he shall find it so. Note, True religion is the true treasure of any prince or people; it denominates them rich. Those places that have plenty of Bibles, and ministers, and serious good people, are really rich; and it contributes to that which makes a nation rich in this world. It is therefore the interest of a people to support religion among them and to take heed of every thing that threatens to hinder it.
V. The great distress that Jerusalem was brought into described, that those who believed the prophet might know beforehand what troubles were coming and might provide accordingly, and that when the foregoing promise of their deliverance should have its accomplishment the remembrance of the extremity of their case might help to magnify God in it and make them the more thankful, Isa 33:7-9. It is here foretold, 1. That the enemy would be very insolent and abusive and there would be no dealing with him, either by treaties of peace (for he has broken the covenant without any hesitation, as if it were below him to be a servant to his word), or by the preparations of war, for he has despised the cities; he scorns to take notice either of their appeals to justice or of their petitions for mercy. He makes himself master of them so easily (though they are called fenced cities), and meets with so little resistance, that he despises them, and has no relentings when he puts all to the sword; for he regards no man, has no pity or concern, no, not for those that he is under particular obligations to. He neither fears God nor regards man, but is haughty and imperious to every one. There are those that take a pride in trampling upon all mankind, and have neither veneration for the honourable nor compassion for the miserable. 2. That therefore he would not be brought to any terms of reconciliation: The valiant ones of Jerusalem, being unable to make their parts good with him, must be contentedly run down with noise and insolence, which will make them cry without, because they cannot serve their country as they might have done against a fair adversary. The ambassadors sent by Hezekiah to treat of peace, finding him so haughty and unmanageable, shall weep bitterly for vexation at the disappointment they had met with in their negotiations; they shall weep like children, as despairing to find out any expedient to pacify him. 3. That the country should be made quite desolate for a time by his army. (1.) No man durst travel the roads; so that a stop was put to trade and commerce, and (which was worse) no man could safely go up to Jerusalem, to keep the solemn feasts: The highways lie waste. While the fields lie waste, trodden like the highways, the highways lie waste, untrodden like the fields, for the traveller ceases. (2.) No man had any profit from the grounds, Isa 33:9. The earth used to rejoice in its own productions for the service of God's Israel, but now the enemies of Israel eat them up, or tread them down: it mourns and languishes; the country looks melancholy and the country people have misery in their countenances, wanting necessary food for themselves and their families; the wonted joy of harvest is turned into lamentation, so withering and uncertain are all worldly joys. The desolation is universal. That part of the country which belonged to the ten tribes was already laid waste: "Lebanon famed for cedars, Sharon for roses, Bashan for cattle, Carmel for corn, all very fruitful, have now become like wildernesses, are ashamed to be called by their old names, they are so unlike what they were. They shake off their fruits before their time into the hand of the spoiler, which used to be gathered seasonably by the hand of the owner."
VI. God appearing, at length, in his glory against his proud invader, Isa 33:10. When things are brought thus to the last extremity, 1. God will magnify himself. He had seemed to sit by as an unconcerned spectator: "But now will I arise, saith the Lord; now will I appear and act, and therein I will be not only evidenced, but exalted." He will not only demonstrate that there is a God that judges in the earth, but that he is God over all, and higher than the highest. "Now will I lift up myself, will prepare for action, will act vigorously, and will be glorified in it." God's time to appear for his people is when their affairs are reduced to the lowest ebb, when their strength is gone and there is none shut up nor left, De 32:36. When all other helpers fail, then is God's time to help. 2. He will bring down the Assyrian: "You, O Assyrians! are big with hopes that you shall have all the wealth of Jerusalem for your own, and are in pain till it be so; but all your hopes shall come to nothing: You shall conceive chaff, and bring forth stubble, which is not only worthless and good for nothing, but combustible and proper fuel for the fire, which it cannot escape, when your own breath as fire shall devour you, that is, the breath of God's wrath, provoked against you by the breath of your sins—your malignant breath, the threatenings and slaughter you breathe out against the people of God, this shall devour you, and your blasphemous breath against God and his name." God would make their own tongues to fall upon them, and their own breath to blow the fire that should consume them; and then no wonder that the people are as the burnings of lime in a lime-kiln, all on fire together, and as thorns cut up, which are dried and withered, and therefore easily take fire and are soon burnt up. Such was the destruction of the Assyrian army; it was like the burning up of thorns, which can well be spared, or the burning of lime, which makes it good for something. The burning of that army enlightened the world with the knowledge of God's power and made his name shine brightly.
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The Forebodings of Hypocrites; Encouragement to God's People (710 BC)
繁體中文
假冒為善者的凶兆；對神百姓的鼓勵（主前710年）
¹³ 你們遠方的人當聽我所行的；你們近處的人當承認我的大能。
¹⁴ 錫安中的罪人都懼怕；不虔敬的人被戰兢抓住。我們中間誰能與吞滅的火同住？我們中間誰能與永遠的燃燒同居呢？
¹⁵ 行事公義、說話正直的人；他憎惡欺壓所得的財利，擺手不受賄賂；他摀耳不聽流血的話，他閉眼不看邪惡的事；
¹⁶ 他必居高處；他的保障是磐石的堅壘；他的糧必不缺；他的水必不斷。
¹⁷ 你的眼必見王的美榮；你必見遼闊之地。
¹⁸ 你的心必默念已往的驚嚇。那文書在哪裏？那收銀的在哪裏？那數點望樓的在哪裏？
¹⁹ 你必不見那強暴的民，就是言語深奧、你不能明白，說話結巴、你不能懂得的民。
²⁰ 你要看錫安，我們守節期的城；你的眼必見耶路撒冷為安靜的居所，為不挪移的帳幕，它的橛子永不拔出，它的繩子無一折斷。
²¹ 但在那裏威嚴的耶和華必為我們作寬闊的江河溝渠之地；其中必沒有蕩槳的平底船經過，也沒有威武的船隻經行。
²² 因為耶和華是我們的審判者，耶和華是我們的設律法者，耶和華是我們的王；他必拯救我們。
²³ 你的繩索鬆開；他們不能使桅杆立定，也不能張起篷帆；那時大量擄物分作掠物；瘸腿的也奪取掠物。
²⁴ 城內居民必不說，我病了；其中居住的百姓，他們的罪孽必蒙赦免。
這裏有一段要求人注意的引言；所有人都當留意——無論遠近——神所說所作的，這是合宜的（Isa 33:13）：遠方的人當聽——無論在地域或時間上的遠方。讓遙遠的地區和將來的世代聽見神所行的。他們確實如此；他們必從聖經如此行，如同那些近處的人——鄰近的列國和當時活著的人——一樣有把握。但無論是誰聽了神所行的，無論遠近，都當承認他的大能——這大能無可抵擋，他能作成一切。那些聽了神所行的卻不肯承認他大能的人，實在愚頑。那麼，我們當留意、當在其中承認他大能的，是神作了甚麼事？
I. 他使錫安中的罪人驚恐（Isa 33:14）：*不虔敬的人被戰兢抓住。*錫安中有罪人，有假冒為善的人——他們享受錫安的特權、參與錫安的事奉，但他們的心在神面前不正；他們在可見的認信之下保持隱密的罪惡藏匿之處，這便定了他們假冒為善的罪。錫安中的罪人要比別的罪人在上面多有所交代；他們在錫安的地位不但不能保護他們，反倒加重他們的罪和刑罰。如今這些錫安中的罪人，雖然常常受祕密的驚嚇和恐懼所困，卻因自己良心的責備而受了非同尋常的驚駭。1. 當他們看見亞述大軍圍困耶路撒冷、隨時要放火焚燒、將之化為灰燼、將黃蜂燒死在巢中時。他們發現自己不能像有些人那樣逃到埃及去，又不信神藉先知所應許必拯救他們的話，便走投無路，如同瘋子般四處亂跑，喊着說：我們中間誰能與吞滅的火同住？我們不如棄城，各人到別處自尋生路；與其在永遠的燃燒中活着，倒不如在此活着。誰能為我們起來抵擋這吞滅的火呢？有人如此讀。請看當神的審判到處施行時，錫安中的罪人如何反應；當這些審判不過是警告時，他們輕看它們、毫不在意；但當審判開始執行時，他們又走到另一個極端，那時誇大其詞、把事情往最壞處想；他們稱之為吞滅的火、永遠的燃燒，並絕望於得拯救蒙解救。那些悖逆神的話語之命令的人，在需要的時候不能從中得著安慰。或者更確切地說，2. 當他們看見亞述大軍被毀滅時；因為那毀滅正是緊接在前（Isa 33:11,12）所說的火。當錫安中的罪人看見神的烈怒行了何等可怕的事時，他們大為驚恐，因為良心告訴他們自己因暗中敬拜別神而惹動了這位神；所以他們喊叫：我們中間誰能與這吞滅的火同住——在他面前如此龐大的軍隊也不過如荊棘？我們中間誰能與這永遠的燃燒同居——它使亞述人如石灰的燃燒？（Isa 33:12）。他們如此說了，或本當如此說。注意，神對錫安仇敵的審判當使錫安中的罪人驚恐，連大衛自己也在其面前戰兢（Ps 119:120）。神自己就是這吞滅的火（Heb 12:29）。誰能在他面前站得住呢？（1Sa 6:20）。他的烈怒必永遠焚燒那些為這火預備了燃料的人。這火必永遠不滅，也永不會自行熄滅；因為這是永生神的烈怒，吞噬著不死靈魂的良心。即使最大膽的罪人也不能抵擋它——無論是執行中的還是那可怕的預期。願這喚醒我們眾人逃離將來的烈怒，逃到基督那裏以他為避難所。
II. 他恩慈地為那些信靠他的百姓預備了保障：當聽，並承認他的大能——他使那些行事公義、說話正直的人居於高處（Isa 33:15,16）。我們在此有，
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好人的品格——即使在普遍不義的時代他也持守的，從多方面表現出來。（1.）他行事公義。在他一切為人的道路上，他都按公平的準則行事，並以良心待人——向人該盡的盡，向神該盡的也盡。他的行事為人就是公義本身；他寧死也不肯故意行一件不義的事。（2.）他說話正直——原文作正直們（uprightnesses）；他說真實和正確的話，並帶着誠實的用意。他不能心想一套、口說另一套，也不能看一邊、划另一邊。他的話對他如同誓言一樣神聖，不是又是又非的。（3.）他不但不貪圖不義之財，反倒藐視它。他認為藉著虧待鄰舍來致富是卑鄙可恥的事，不合乎一個有尊嚴的人。他不屑行錯誤的事，連嚴苛的事也不肯行，雖然可以由此得利。他不過分看重利益本身，因此輕易藐視那不正當得來的利益。（4.）若任何時候有賄賂塞進他手中要歪曲公義，他擺手不受——帶著極大的厭惡，視之為對他的冒犯。（5.）他摀耳不聽任何趨向殘忍或流血的話，也不聽任何煽動他報復的提議（Job 31:31）。他對那些好戰、要引誘他與他們同夥的人充耳不聞（Pr 1:14,16）。（6.）*他閉眼不看邪惡。*他對罪極其厭惡，以致不能忍受看見別人犯罪，自己更是防備一切犯罪的機會。那些要保守自己靈魂純潔的人，必須嚴嚴地把守身體的感官，必須對試探摀耳，並轉眼不看虛妄。
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好人的安慰——即使在普遍災禍的時代他也能保持的（Isa 33:16）。（1.）他必安全；他必逃脫吞滅的火和永遠的燃燒；他必得以親近並與那位是吞滅之火的神相交——但對他而言，這火要成為喜樂的光。至於眼前的患難，他必居高處——在患難的範圍之外，連患難的響聲也聽不到；他不會真的受害，甚至不會因此大為驚嚇：大水的氾濫必不能臨近他；或即使攻擊他，他的保障是磐石的堅壘——既堅固又不可攻克，天然與人工的防禦兼備。神的大能必保護他安全，他對這大能的信心必保護他心安。神，那永久的磐石，必作他的高臺。（2.）他必得供應；他所需用的一切必不缺乏：他的糧必不缺——即使圍城最嚴、糧食斷絕之時；他的水必不斷——就是他必確保其持續，以致他不必驚惶失措地按量喝水。敬畏耶和華的人，必不缺乏任何於他們有益的事物。
III. 他必保護耶路撒冷，將它從侵略者手中拯救出來。那威脅他們的風暴必過去，他們必再享受興盛的景況。這裏列舉了這興盛的多個實例。
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希西家必脫去他的麻衣和面容上一切的愁苦，必在他的美榮中公開顯現——穿上朝服、面帶喜色（Isa 33:17），使一切愛他的臣民大得喜樂。那些行事正直的人，不但必得糧不缺、水必不斷，更必以信心之眼看見萬王之王在他的美榮中——聖潔的美榮——那美榮也必臨到他們身上。
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圍困既已解除——他們原先因此被困在耶路撒冷城牆之內——如今他們必得以自由外出辦事或遊玩，而不致落入仇敵手中：你必見遼闊之地；他們必遊訪國中極遠的角落，並展望鄰近的列國——在如此長久的禁錮之後，這必更加令人愉悅。如此，信徒在惡劣的時候也憑信看見那屬天的迦南——那遼闊之地——並在其中得安慰。
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他們當日所受驚嚇的記憶，必增添他們得拯救的喜樂（Isa 33:18）：你的心必默念已往的驚嚇——當它過去之後，以喜樂的心默念。你必以為耳中仍聽見警報，那時滿耳都是：「武裝、武裝、武裝！各人各就各位。那文書——或戰時的祕書——在哪裏？讓他出來編造名冊。那收銀的——軍隊的出納——在哪裏？讓他查看他庫中有多少，以應付防禦的開支。那數點望樓的在哪裏？讓他把帳目呈上，好叫各樓配備足夠的人手。」或這話可理解為耶路撒冷對亞述敗軍的誇勝——使徒也引用類似的話誇勝這世界的學問被基督的福音所挫敗（1Co 1:20）。錫安的處女藐視他們一切軍事的預備。亞述軍隊的文書或點名官在哪裏？他們的秤量者（或庫務官）在哪裏？那些數點望樓的工程師在哪裏？他們或死或逃。他們完了。
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他們必不再被亞述人的面目所驚嚇——他們本性是兇猛的民，對猶太人尤其兇殘，且說奇異的言語，既聽不懂他們的請願也聽不懂他們的申訴，因此有藉口裝聾，自己也不能被人明白：他們是言語深奧、你不能明白的民，這使他們更加可怕（Isa 33:19）。你的眼必不再看見他們如此兇殘——當他們都成了死屍時，他們的面目變了。
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他們必不再為耶路撒冷——錫安及其中聖殿——的安危而憂慮（Isa 33:20）：要看錫安，我們守節期的城——我們在其中守神聖嚴肅節期的城，我們在那裏聚集，在宗教聚會中敬拜神。他們當中的敬虔人在受苦之時，最為錫安心痛的就是：它是他們守節期的城，恐怕征服者會焚燒他們的聖殿，他們就再也沒有地方守嚴肅的節期了。在公眾危難之時，我們最當關心的是我們的信仰；我們守節期的城，對我們當比堅固城或儲備城更為寶貴。正是着眼於此，神要為耶路撒冷施行拯救，因為它是宗教嚴肅集會的城：當良心持守這些，作為一個民族的榮耀，我們便可倚靠神在那榮耀之上創造保障。這裏向耶路撒冷應許了兩件事：——（1.）有根據的安全。它必作神百姓安靜的居所；他們必不再像從前那樣被戰爭或逼迫的警報所攪擾和驚擾（Isa 29:20）。它既是守節期的城，就必作安靜的居所。能在自己家中安寧固然可羨，在神的家中安寧、無人使我們在那裏懼怕，更為可羨。耶路撒冷必如此；而眼必看見，這對好人乃是極大的滿足（Ps 128:5,6）。你看見耶路撒冷的好處、以色列的平安；你必活着看見並有分於其中。（2.）不搖動的穩固。耶路撒冷——我們守節期的城——與新耶路撒冷相比，不過是帳幕而已。現今所顯明的神的榮耀和恩典，與為將來的狀態所保留的相比，也算不得甚麼。但它是一個不挪移的帳幕。這場患難過去之後，耶路撒冷必長久享受確定的平安；它那些作為帳幕橛子和繩索的神聖特權，也必不被挪去，其宗教事奉的進程和循環也必不受干擾。神在地上的教會是一個帳幕——雖然可以從一處遷到另一處，卻在世界存留之時不被拆下；因為在每個時代，基督都必有一個事奉他的後裔。聖約的應許是它的橛子，永不拔出；福音的律例和制度是它的繩索，永不折斷。這些是不可震動的事物，即使天地被震動，它們卻要長存。
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神自己必作他們的保護者和拯救者（Isa 33:21,22）。這是他們信心的主要根基：那自己是威嚴之主的，必為我們彰顯他的威嚴，作我們的榮耀——一種足以掩蓋仇敵相爭之榮耀的榮耀。神以恩慈的主身分，便是威嚴的主；因為他的恩慈就是他的榮耀。神必作耶路撒冷的拯救者和威嚴之主，（1.）作他們對外抵擋仇敵的保障。他必作寬闊的江河溝渠之地。耶路撒冷沒有甚麼大河從旁流過——大多數大城都有的——不過有汲淪溪而已，因此缺少了最好的天然防禦之一，以及貿易商業上最大的優勢之一；仇敵因此藐視他們，並確信輕易可以得手；但神的同在和大能隨時足以補足受造物及其力量和美麗的不足。我們在神裏面擁有一切——我們所需或所願的一切。耶路撒冷有許多別處所有的外在優勢沒有，但在神裏面有過之而無不及。但若耶路撒冷周圍有寬闊的江河溝渠，這些豈不為侵略者的艦隊提供輕易的通道嗎？不；這些江河溝渠沒有蕩槳的平底船經過，沒有威武的船隻經行。若神自己就是那河，它對仇敵必是無可接近的；他們既不能尋得通道，也不能強行闖入。（2.）作他們國內事務的引導：因為耶和華是我們的審判者——我們向他負責，我們將自己交託他的審判，我們順服他的審判，因此（我們盼望）他必為我們施行審判。他是我們的設律法者——他的話對我們是律法，我們裏面每一個意念都被帶來順服。他是我們的王——我們向他進貢納稅、效忠不渝，因此*他必拯救我們。*因為保護既招致效忠，效忠便可以期望保護，且在神那裏必得著保護。我們以信心接受基督為我們的君王和救主，並作為這樣的一位倚靠他、獻身於他。請留意他們以何等誇勝的姿態、以何等強調那榮耀的神名的語氣自慰：耶和華是我們的審判者，耶和華是我們的設律法者，耶和華是我們的王——他是自有永有的，因此自足，且對我們是全足的。
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仇敵必完全迷惑，他們一切的力量和計謀盡被打破，如同海上的船遇見暴風，不能頂住，索具撕裂、桅杆劈開、無可修補，被放棄為遇難（Isa 33:23）。亞述人的繩索已經鬆開；他們如同一艘繩索鬆弛、或被船員拋棄的船——當他們認為它已無望時，便發現不能使桅杆立定，桅杆必要倒下。他們本以為耶路撒冷必穩操勝券；但當他們彷彿正要進港、以為一切盡在掌握之時，卻完全無風可乘，不能張起篷帆，被風困住，直到神將烈怒傾倒在他們身上。神教會的仇敵常常在以為自己幾乎得手之時，反被解除武裝、卸下索具。
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他們營中的財富必成為猶太人豐富的擄物：*那時大量擄物分作掠物。當大部分人被殺、其餘的人混亂逃竄時，他們逃得如此匆忙，以至於（如同亞蘭人那樣）留下帳棚原樣不動，其中一切財寶便落入被圍困者的手中；甚至瘸腿的也奪取掠物。*那些留在家中的人也分了擄物。這擄物如此易得，不但強壯的人可以取之，連瘸腿的人——手瘸不能打仗、腳瘸不能追趕的——也可以。勝利既不花他們危險的代價，擄物也不花他們勞苦的代價。並且擄物如此豐盛，以至於那些殷勤趕先的人帶走了他們所要的一切之後，連那些後到的瘸腿者，也找到了充足。如此神從惡中帶出善來，不但拯救了耶路撒冷，更使之富足，豐豐富富地補償了他們所受的損失。神百姓的驚嚇和困苦，往往如此圓滿地結束。
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疾病和罪都必被除去；而當這一切的果效——從疾病中恢復，即除掉罪——成就時，疾病便在憐憫中被除去了。（1.）城內居民必不說，我病了。如同瘸腿的取掠物一樣，病人也不顧自己的軟弱，設法來到被撇棄的營中奪取一份；或者，因這場合而有的普遍喜樂如此之盛，甚至病人也暫時忘記了自己的病痛和其中的憂愁，與公眾一同歡樂；他們城的拯救便成了他們的醫治。或這暗示，雖然傳染病通常是長久圍城的後果，耶路撒冷卻不至於此；其中的居民既得勝利與平安，也必得健康，城內必沒有因病而有的哀聲。或者，那些患病的人看見耶路撒冷得享安寧，便默默忍受自己的病痛而不發怨言。我們對私事不滿之感，當淹沒在我們為公眾憐憫所獻的感恩之中。（2.）其中居住的百姓，他們的罪孽必蒙赦免——不但國家的整體得蒙赦免其國家的罪疚、撤去國家的審判，連其中居住的個人，也必悔改、歸正、罪得赦免。這被應許為一切別的恩惠的根源；他必為他們如此行，因為他必寬恕他們的不義（Heb 8:12）。罪是靈魂的疾病。當神赦免罪時，他便醫治這病；當罪的疾病藉赦免之恩得醫治時，身體疾病的毒鉤也被拔除、其成因也被除去；因此居民或是不病，或至少不說我病了。罪既被除掉，我們就沒有理由抱怨外在的患難。孩子，放心，你的罪赦了。
英文原文
The Forebodings of Hypocrites; Encouragement to God's People (710 BC)
¹³ Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.
¹⁴ The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
¹⁵ He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;
¹⁶ He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.
¹⁷ Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.
¹⁸ Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?
¹⁹ Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand.
²⁰ Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.
²¹ But there the glorious LORD will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.
²² For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.
²³ Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail: then is the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame take the prey.
²⁴ And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.
Here is a preface that commands attention; and it is fit that all should attend, both near and afar off, to what God says and does (Isa 33:13): Hear, you that are afar off, whether in place or time. Let distant regions and future ages hear what God has done. They do so; they will do so from the scripture, with as much assurance as those that were near, the neighbouring nations and those that lived at that time. But whoever hears what God has done, whether near or afar off, let them acknowledge his might, that it is irresistible, and that he can do every thing. Those are very stupid who hear what God has done and yet will not acknowledge his might. Now what is it that God has done which we must take notice of, and in which we must acknowledge his might?
I. He has struck a terror upon the sinners in Zion (Isa 33:14): Fearfulness has surprised the hypocrites. There are sinners in Zion, hypocrites, that enjoy Zion's privileges and concur in Zion's services, but their hearts are not right in the sight of God; they keep up secret haunts of sin under the cloak of a visible profession, which convicts them of hypocrisy. Sinners in Zion will have a great deal to answer for above other sinners; and their place in Zion will be so far from being their security that it will aggravate both their sin and their punishment. Now those sinners in Zion, though always subject to secret frights and terrors, were struck with a more than ordinary consternation from the convictions of their own consciences. 1. When they saw the Assyrian army besieging Jerusalem, and ready to set fire to it and lay it in ashes, and burn the wasps in the nest. Finding they could not make their escape to Egypt, as some had done, and distrusting the promises God had made by his prophets that he would deliver them, they were at their wits' end, and ran about like men distracted, crying, "Who among us shall dwell with devouring fire? Let us therefore abandon the city, and shift for ourselves elsewhere; one had as good live in everlasting burnings as live here." Who will stand up for us against this devouring fire? so some read it. See here how the sinners in Zion are affected when the judgments of God are abroad; while they were only threatened they slighted them and made nothing of them; but, when they come to be executed, they run into the other extreme, then they magnify them, and make the worst of them; they call them devouring fire and everlasting burnings, and despair of relief and succour. Those that rebel against the commands of the word cannot take the comforts of it in a time of need. Or, rather, 2. When they saw the Assyrian army destroyed; for the destruction of that is the fire spoken of immediately before, Isa 33:11,12. When the sinners in Zion saw what dreadful execution the wrath of God made they were in a great fright, being conscious to themselves that they had provoked this God by their secretly worshipping other gods; and therefore they cry out, Who among us shall dwell with this devouring fire, before which so vast an army is as thorns? Who among us shall dwell with these everlasting burnings, which have made the Assyrians as the burnings of lime? Isa 33:12. Thus they said, or should have said. Note, God's judgments upon the enemies of Zion should strike a terror upon the sinners in Zion, nay, David himself trembles at them, Ps 119:120. God himself is this devouring fire, Heb 12:29. Who is able to stand before him? 1Sa 6:20. His wrath will burn those everlastingly that have made themselves fuel for it. It is a fire that shall never be quenched, nor will ever go out of itself; for it is the wrath of an everlasting God preying upon the conscience of an immortal soul. Nor can the most daring sinners bear up against it, so as to bear either the execution of it or the fearful expectation of it. Let this awaken us all to flee from the wrath to come, by fleeing to Christ as our refuge.
II. He has graciously provided for the security of his people that trust in him: Hear this, and acknowledge his power in making those that walk righteously, and speak uprightly, to dwell on high, Isa 33:15,16. We have here,
1. The good man's character, which he preserves even in times of common iniquity, in divers instances. (1.) He walks righteously. In the whole course of his conversation he acts by rules of equity, and makes conscience of rendering to all their due, to God his due, as well as to men theirs. His walk is righteousness itself; he would not for a world wilfully do an unjust thing. (2.) He speaks uprightly, uprightnesses (so the word is); he speaks what is true and right, and with an honest intention. He cannot think one thing and speak another, nor look one way and row another. His word is to him as sacred as his oath, and is not yea and nay. (3.) He is so far from coveting ill-gotten gain that he despises it. He thinks it a mean and sordid thing, and unbecoming a man of honour, to enrich himself by any hardship put upon his neighbour. He scorns to do a wrong thing, nay, to do a severe thing, though he might get by it. He does not over-value gain itself, and therefore easily abhors the gain that is not honestly come by. (4.) If he have a bribe at any time thrust into his hand, to pervert justice, he shakes his hands from holding it, with the utmost detestation, taking it as an affront to have it offered him. (5.) He stops his ears from hearing any thing that tends to cruelty or bloodshed, or any suggestions stirring him up to revenge, Job 31:31. He turns a deaf ear to those that delight in war and entice him to cast in his lot among them, Pr 1:14,16. (6.) He shuts his eyes from seeing evil. He has such an abhorrence of sin that he cannot bear to see others commit it, and does himself watch against all the occasions of it. Those that would preserve the purity of their souls must keep a strict guard upon the senses of their bodies, must stop their ears to temptations, and turn away their eyes from beholding vanity.
2. The good man's comfort, which he may preserve even in times of common calamity, Isa 33:16. (1.) He shall be safe; he shall escape the devouring fire and the everlasting burnings; he shall have access to, and communion with, that God who is a devouring fire, but shall be to him a rejoicing light. And, as to present troubles, he shall dwell on high, out of the reach of them, nay, out of the hearing of the noise of them; he shall not be really harmed by them, nay, he shall not be greatly frightened at them: The floods of great waters shall not come nigh him; or, if they should attack him, his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks, strong and impregnable, fortified by nature as well as art. The divine power will keep him safe, and his faith in that power will keep him easy. God, the rock of ages, will be his high tower. (2.) He shall be supplied; he shall want nothing that is necessary for him: Bread shall be given him, even when the siege is straitest and provisions are cut off; and his waters shall be sure, that is, he shall be sure of the continuance of them, so that he shall not drink his water by measure and with astonishment. Those that fear the Lord shall not want any thing that is good for them.
III. He will protect Jerusalem, and deliver it out of the hands of the invaders. This storm that threatened them should blow over, and they should enjoy a prosperous state again. Many instances are here given of this prosperity.
1. Hezekiah shall put off his sackcloth and all the sadness of his countenance, and shall appear publicly in his beauty, in his royal robes and with a pleasing aspect (Isa 33:17), to the great joy of all his loving subjects. Those that walk uprightly shall not only have bread given them, and their water sure, but they shall with an eye of faith see the King of kings in his beauty, the beauty of holiness, and that beauty shall be upon them.
2. The siege being raised, by which they were kept close within the walls of Jerusalem, they shall now be at liberty to go abroad upon business or pleasure without danger of falling into the enemies' hand: They shall behold the land that is very far off; they shall visit the utmost corners of the nation, and take a prospect of the adjacent countries, which will be the more pleasant after so long a confinement. Thus believers behold the heavenly Canaan, that land that is very far off, and comfort themselves with the prospect of it in evil times.
3. The remembrance of the fright they were in shall add to the pleasure of their deliverance (Isa 33:18): Thy heart shall meditate terror, meditate it with pleasure when it is over. Thou shalt think thou still hearest the alarm in thy ears, when all the cry was, "Arm, arm, arm! every man to his post. Where is the scribe or secretary of war? Let him appear to draw up the muster-roll. Where is the receiver and pay-master of the army? Let him see what he had in bank, to defray the charge of a defence. Where is he that counted the towers? Let him bring in the account of them, that care may be taken to put a competent number of men in each." Or these words may be taken as Jerusalem's triumph over the vanquished army of the Assyrians, and the rather because the apostle alludes to them in his triumphs over the learning of this world, when it was baffled by the gospel of Christ, 1Co 1:20. The virgin, the daughter of Zion, despises all their military preparations. Where is the scribe or muster-master of the Assyrian army? Where is their weigher (or treasurer), and where are their engineers that counted the towers? They are all either dead or fled. There is an end of them.
4. They shall no more be terrified with the sight of the Assyrians, who were a fierce people naturally, and were particularly fierce against the people of the Jews, and were of a strange language, that could understand neither their petitions nor their complaints, and therefore had a pretence for being deaf to them, nor could themselves be understood: "They are of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive, which will make them the more formidable, Isa 33:19. Thy eyes shall no more see them thus fierce, but their countenances changed when they shall all become dead corpses."
5. They shall no more be under apprehensions of the danger of Jerusalem-Zion, and the temple there (Isa 33:20): "Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities, the city where our solemn sacred feasts are kept, where we used to meet to worship God in religious assemblies." The good people among them, in the time of their distress, were most in pain for Zion upon this account, that it was the city of their solemnities, that the conquerors would burn their temple and they should not have that to keep their solemn feasts in any more. In times of public danger our concern should be most about our religion, and the cities of our solemnities should be dearer to us than either our strong cities or our store-cities. It is with an eye to this that God will work deliverance for Jerusalem, because it is the city of religious solemnities: let those be conscientiously kept up, as the glory of a people, and we may depend upon God to create a defence upon that glory. Two things are here promised to Jerusalem:—(1.) A well-grounded security. It shall be a quiet habitation for the people of God; they shall not be molested and disturbed, as they have been, by the alarms of the sword either of war or persecution, Isa 29:20. It shall be a quiet habitation, as it is the city of our solemnities. It is desirable to be quiet in our own houses, but much more so to be quiet in God's house and have none to make us afraid there. Thus it shall be with Jerusalem; and the eyes shall see it, which will be a great satisfaction to a good man, Ps 128:5,6. "Thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem, and peace upon Israel; thou shalt live to see it and share in it." (2.) An unmoved stability. Jerusalem, the city of our solemnities, is indeed but a tabernacle, in comparison with the New Jerusalem. The present manifestations of the divine glory and grace are nothing in comparison with those that are reserved for the future state. But it is such a tabernacle as shall not be taken down. After this trouble is over Jerusalem shall long enjoy a confirmed peace; and her sacred privileges, which are the stakes and cords of her tabernacle, shall not be removed from her, nor any disturbance given to the course and circle of her religious services. God's church on earth is a tabernacle, which, though it may be shifted from one place to another, shall not be taken down while the world stands; for in every age Christ will have a seed to serve him. The promises of the covenant are its stakes, which shall never be removed, and the ordinances and institutions of the gospel are its cords, which shall never be broken. They are things which cannot be shaken, though heaven and earth be, but shall remain.
6. God himself will be their protector and Saviour, Isa 33:21,22. This the principal ground of their confidence: "He that is himself the glorious Lord will display his glory for us and be a glory to us, such as shall eclipse the rival-glory of the enemy." God, in being a gracious Lord, is a glorious Lord; for his goodness is his glory. God will be the Saviour of Jerusalem and her glorious Lord, (1.) As a guard against their adversaries abroad. He will be a place of broad rivers and streams. Jerusalem had no considerable river running by it, as most great cities have, nothing but the brook Kidron, and so wanted one of the best natural fortifications, as well as one of the greatest advantages for trade and commerce, and upon this account their enemies despised them and doubted not but to make an easy prey of them; but the presence and power of God are sufficient at any time to make up to us the deficiencies of the creature and of its strength and beauty. We have all in God, all we need or can desire. Many external advantages Jerusalem has not which other places have, but in God there is more than an equivalent. But, if there be broad rivers and streams about Jerusalem, may not these yield an easy access to the fleet of an invader? No; these are rivers and streams in which shall go no galley with oars, no man of war or gallant ship. If God himself be the river, it must needs be inaccessible to the enemy; they can neither find nor force their way by it. (2.) As a guide to their affairs at home: "For the Lord is our Judge, to whom we are accountable, to whose judgment we refer ourselves, by whose judgment we abide, and who therefore (we hope) will judge for us. He is our lawgiver; his word is a law to us, and to him every thought within us is brought into obedience. He is our King, to whom we pay homage and tribute, and an inviolable allegiance, and therefore he will save us." For, as protection draws allegiance, so allegiance may expect protection, and shall have it with God. By faith we take Christ for our prince and Saviour, and as such depend upon him and devote ourselves to him. Observe with what an air of triumph, and with what an emphasis laid upon the glorious name of God, they comfort themselves with this: Jehovah is our Judge, Jehovah is our Lawgiver, Jehovah is our King, who, being self-existent, is self-sufficient, and all-sufficient to us.
7. The enemies shall be quite infatuated, and all their powers and projects broken, like a ship at sea in stress of weather, that cannot ride out the storm, but having her tackle torn, her masts split, and nothing wherewith to repair them, is given up for a wreck, Isa 33:23. The tacklings of the Assyrian are loosed; they are like a ship whose tacklings are loose, or forsaken by the ship's crew, when they give it over for lost, finding that they cannot strengthen the mast, but it will come down. They thought themselves sure of Jerusalem; but when they were just entering the port as it were, and though all was their own, they were quite becalmed, and could not spread their sail, but lay wind-bound till God poured the fury of his wrath upon them. The enemies of God's church are often disarmed and unrigged when they think they have almost gained their point.
8. The wealth of their camp shall be a rich booty for the Jews: Then is the prey of a great spoil divided. When the greater part were slain the rest fled in confusion, and with such precipitation that (like the Syrians) they left their tents as they were, so that all the treasure in them fell into the hands of the besieged; and even the lame take the prey. Those that tarried at home did divide the spoil. It was so easy to come at that not only the strong man might make himself master of it, but even the lame man, whose hands were lame, that he could not fight, and his feet, that he could not pursue. As the victory shall cost them no peril, so the prey shall cost them no toil. And there was such abundance of it that when those who were forward, and came first, had carried off as much as they would, even the lame, who came late, found sufficient. Thus God brought good out of evil, and not only delivered Jerusalem, but enriched it, and abundantly recompensed the losses they had sustained. Thus comfortably and well do the frights and distresses of the people of God often end.
9. Both sickness and sin shall be taken away; and then sickness is taken away in mercy when this is all the fruit of it, and the recovery from it, even the taking away of sin. (1.) The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick. As the lame shall take the prey, so shall the sick, notwithstanding their weakness, make a shift to get to the abandoned camp and seize something for themselves; or there shall be such a universal transport of joy upon this occasion that even the sick shall, for the present, forget their sickness and the sorrows of it, and join with the public in its rejoicings; the deliverance of their city shall be their cure. Or it intimates that, whereas infectious diseases are commonly the effect of long sieges, it shall not be so with Jerusalem, but the inhabitants of it with their victory and peace shall have health also, and there shall be no complaining upon the account of sickness within their gates. Or those that are sick shall bear their sickness without complaining as long as they see it goes well with Jerusalem. Our sense of private grievances should be drowned in our thanksgivings for public mercies. (2.) The people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity, not only the body of the nation forgiven their national guilt in the removing of the national judgment, but particular persons, that dwell therein, shall repent, and reform, and have their sins pardoned. And this is promised as that which is at the bottom of all other favours; he will do so and so for them, for he will be merciful to their unrighteousness, Heb 8:12. Sin is the sickness of the soul. When God pardons the sin he heals the disease; and, when the diseases of sin are healed by pardoning mercy, the sting of bodily sickness is taken out and the cause of it removed; so that either the inhabitant shall not be sick or at least shall not say, I am sick. If iniquity be taken away, we have little reason to complain of outward affliction. Son, be of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven thee.
本章論及與上一章相同的事件，即猶大與耶路撒冷因西拿基立入侵所受的困苦，以及他們因亞述軍隊覆滅而得的解救。這些內容在預言中，以品達式（頌歌體）的方式交織在一起。請留意：一、 猶大與耶路撒冷那時將要陷入的大困苦，賽 33:7-9。二、 錫安中的罪人那時所要承受的特別驚恐，賽 33:13,14。三、 敬虔人在這患難中向神所發的禱告，賽 33:2。四、 他們在這患難之中所要享受的聖潔安穩，賽 33:15,16。五、 亞述軍隊的毀滅（賽 33:1-3），在其中神必大得榮耀，賽 33:5,10-12。六、 猶大人因亞述營盤的擄物而致富，賽 33:4,23,24。七、 耶路撒冷與猶大國因此得著喜樂的安頓。宗教必居首位（賽 33:6），他們的國家也必興盛，賽 33:17-22。這事不久便應驗了，卻是為教訓我們而寫的。