《The Sermon Bible Commentary – Isaiah》(William R. Nicoll)
Editor
Sir William Robertson Nicoll CH (October 10, 1851 - May 4, 1923) was a Scottish Free Church minister, journalist, editor, and man of letters.
Nicoll was born in Lumsden, Aberdeenshire, the son of a Free Church minister. He was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School and graduated MA at the University of Aberdeen in 1870, and studied for the ministry at the Free Church Divinity Hall there until 1874, when he was ordained minister of the Free Church at Dufftown, Banffshire. Three years later he moved to Kelso, and in 1884 became editor of The Expositor for Hodder & Stoughton, a position he held until his death.
In 1885 Nicoll was forced to retire from pastoral ministry after an attack of typhoid had badly damaged his lung. In 1886 he moved south to London, which became the base for the rest of his life. With the support of Hodder and Stoughton he founded the British Weekly, a Nonconformist newspaper, which also gained great influence over opinion in the churches in Scotland.
Nicoll secured many writers of exceptional talent for his paper (including Marcus Dods, J. M. Barrie, Ian Maclaren, Alexander Whyte, Alexander Maclaren, and James Denney), to which he added his own considerable talents as a contributor. He began a highly popular feature, "Correspondence of Claudius Clear", which enabled him to share his interests and his reading with his readers. He was also the founding editor of The Bookman from 1891, and acted as chief literary adviser to the publishing firm of Hodder & Stoughton.
Among his other enterprises were The Expositor's Bible and The Theological Educator. He edited The Expositor's Greek Testament (from 1897), and a series of Contemporary Writers (from 1894), and of Literary Lives (from 1904).
He projected but never wrote a history of The Victorian Era in English Literature, and edited, with T. J. Wise, two volumes of Literary Anecdotes of the Nineteenth Century. He was knighted in 1909, ostensibly for his literrary work, but in reality probably more for his long-term support for the Liberal Party. He was appointed to the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in the 1921 Birthday Honours.
01 Chapter 1
Verse 12-13
Isaiah 1:12-13
Such texts as this ought to terrify us. For they speak of religious people and of a religious nation, and of a fearful mistake which they were making, and a fearful danger into which they had fallen.
I. Isaiah tells the religious Jews of his day that their worship of God, their church-going, their Sabbaths, and their appointed feasts were a weariness and an abomination to Him. That God loathed them and would not listen to the prayers which were made to Him. That the whole matter was a mockery and a lie in His sight. These are awful words enough—that God should hate and loathe what He Himself had appointed; that what would be, one would think, one of the most natural and most pleasant sights to a loving Father in heaven—namely, his own children worshipping, blessing, and praising Him—should be horrible in His sight.
II. The text should set us on thinking, Why do I come to church? Because it is the fashion? Because I want to hear the preacher? No; to worship God. To adore God for His goodness, and to pray to Him to make us good, is the sum and substance of all wholesome worship. Then is a man fit to come to church, sins and all, if he carry his sins into church not to carry them out again safely and carefully, as we are all too apt to do, but to cast them down at the foot of Christ's cross, in the hope (and no man ever hoped that hope in vain) that he will be lightened of that burden, and leave some of them at least behind him.
C. Kingsley, The Good News of God, p. 51.
References: Isaiah 1:13.—Preacher's Monthly, vol. ii., p. 365. Isaiah 1:16.—Homiletic Quarterly, vol. ii., p. 263. Isaiah 1:16, Isaiah 1:17.—J. Keble, Sermons from Advent to Christmas Eve, pp. 424, 435, 446; H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxi., p. 228; D. Burns, Ibid., vol. xxix., p. 83.
Verses 16-18
Isaiah 1:16-18
As early then as the time of Isaiah we find the doctrine of the reformation of character dependent on forgiveness of sin distinctly taught.
Consider:—
I. The demand made. (1) The nature of the demand. It is for a reformation of practice. Put in one word, it is Reform. This is the one Divine call to fallen man. At one time it is an old commandment, at another a new one. Whether it be faith or love, hope or patience, that are enjoined, they are all to issue in the moral elevation of man's character. (2) The word "learn" suggests a further thought, namely, the ground of this demand for reform. The ground of the demand is the perversity of the human will. (3) Consider the justice of the demand. It is God who makes it. But He could not have made it unless it were just to do so; nor would He have made it unless it were possible for man to meet it.
II. How to meet God's demand for reform. (1) The answer of nature. The belief in the ability of man to reform himself is founded either on ignorance of the real nature of his moral condition, as was the case in the pagan world, or on a deliberate refusal to recognise the truth when it is presented concerning that condition, as was the case in Judaism, and is the case at the present day with those who persuade themselves to a belief in the infinite intrinsic capability of human nature. (2) The answer of grace. A power from without is absolutely necessary to enable man to meet the demand for reform. This power is God's forgiveness. (a) Pardon is an inducement to repentance, which is the first step in the reformation of character, (b) Pardon removes, or rather is itself, as its name implies, the removal of sin. When sin itself is removed in forgiveness, all its consequences, too, will soon vanish; and lightened of our burden, we shall feel free and ready to undertake the duties of the new life.
R. E. Morris, The Welsh Pulpit of To-Day, p. 295.
Verse 18
Isaiah 1:18
What are a few of the leading lines of God's instruction to the soul?
I. He teaches through conscience. Conscience is a "necessary idea." Nothing is so certain as that; from east to west, from north and south, comes testimony to that fact. The poems of Homer, the awful hints and warnings of the tragic poets of Greece, the religious teachings of the farthest East, the ethical form of the strong Egyptian faith in immortality,—all combine to record the existence of this "necessary idea." Let each of us obey the invitation by keeping an ear ready for the warnings of conscience; let us lose no time. "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord."
II. The soul is instructed by the providence of God. The Bible, from beginning to end, is ever exhibiting this blessed truth. The beautiful stories of the earlier patriarchs, the incidental episodes (such as that sweet picture of dutiful devotion in the Book of Ruth), the proclamations of the Prophets, the tender verses of the Psalms, as well as the whole history of the chosen people, conspire to witness to the consoling fact that "the Lord careth for His people." To learn, with ready mind, the lessons of Divine providence is to listen to the Divine invitation, "Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord." Among His many lessons, surely there are two that He would teach us: (1) the blessing of a bright and patient spirit in those who are trying to serve God; (2) seek earnestly God's guidance in all times of difficulty, and confidently trust in Him.
III. God instructs the soul of the creature by the revelation of Jesus Christ. What does Jesus Christ teach? (1) In His example, as exhibited in the Gospel, He shows us a righteousness so transcendent that it corroborates the teachings of conscience, a course of action of such unvarying tenderness that it illustrates and manifests the providence of God. (2) He gives the most vivid, the most appalling, revelation of human sin; but with it, what conscience could never do of the most loving, most complete forgiveness to the penitent, and the brightest hope (after sorrow) as to human destiny, in the tragedy—the love-marked tragedy—of the Passion. (3) And beyond that, He displays to us a prospect and a power of attainment to the heights of spiritual longing, by revealing the method and confirming the promise of the implanting of His own life, of His own image, ever more and more fully in the soul of His creature, which is the daily, hourly work of God's blessed Spirit in those who diligently seek Him.
W. J. Knox-Little, Manchester Sermons, p. 1.
I. God, having made this proposition, proceeds on the assumption that He knows Himself to be right in this case.
II. God proceeds on the assumption that man ought to be prepared to vindicate his conduct by reasons.
III. The sinner is invited to take his case to the fountain-head. It is God who invites us to state the case directly to Himself.
IV. From a proposition of this kind, what can I infer but that God's purpose is, in making it, to mingle mercy with judgment?
V. The sinner is left absolutely without excuse.
Parker, City Temple, vol. iii., p. 49.
References: Isaiah 1:18.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. vii., No. 366, and vol. xxii., No. 1278; Ibid., My Sermon Notes: Ecclesiastes to Malachi, p. 213; J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons, 1874, p. 33; G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 117; S. Cox, Expositions, 3rd series, p. 427; R. W. Evans, Parochial Sermons, vol. ii., p. 193. Isaiah 1:22-26.—H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xx., p. 228. Isaiah 1:31.—Preacher's Monthly, vol. v., p. 207.
02 Chapter 2
Verse 2
Isaiah 2:2
When Christ came and took possession of His own house, it could not be but that some great changes would take place in its economy and its condition. And such there were. It was exalted and established above all earthly power, and became a refuge and home for all ages. It remained what it had been before, a Church, in its inward and characteristic structure the same; but it became what it had never been before, or only in a partial measure in the time of David and some other princes, and that in type of what was to come,—it became an imperial Church. It was the head of an empire.
I. When our Lord was ascending, He said, "All power is given unto Me in heaven, and in earth." We believe in His power in heaven; but, strange to say, it is usual with us to grudge Him His power upon earth. He is the invisible King of a visible kingdom; for it does not at all follow, because a monarch is withdrawn from view, that therefore His kingdom must cease to be a fact in the face of day also.
II. Who are spoken of as the rulers in the kingdom, Christ's viceroys? The twelve Apostles, and first of all Peter. Their authority was equal to that of Him who appointed them. "He that receiveth you," He saith, "receiveth Me." Nay, it would seem as if their authority were even greater than that which it pleased our Lord to possess in the days of His flesh; for whereas He breathed on them, and said, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost," He had formerly said, "Whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven Him; but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven Him."
III. The only question that can here arise is this: whether this imperial power was vested only in the twelve Apostles, or in others besides and after them? I answer: (1) We must conclude that the power was vested in others also, from the size of the empire; for a few persons, though inspired, cannot be supposed to have been equal to the care of all the churches. (2) Again, it is expressly said, that the Church is to last to the end of time, and the gates of hell are to fail in their warfare against it. But the Apostles were soon cut off; therefore the Church's power was vested in others besides the Apostles. (3) The promise was neither made nor fulfilled exactly to the twelve Apostles; one of them fell, and another took his place. (4) No honours which were accorded to the Apostles were accorded to them for their own sake, or were, strictly speaking, vested in them; they were theirs only as being instruments of Him who, being "immortal, invisible," governs His kingdom in every age in His own way; the one Master, the one Lord, the one Teacher, the one Priest, alone glorified in all His saints, while they live and when they die. Whatever honours then and powers the Apostles possessed needed not to die with them, for they never had really belonged to them.
J. H. Newman, Sermons on Subjects of the Day, p. 26.
References: Isaiah 2:2.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. v., No. 249. Isaiah 2:3.—Clergyman's Magazine, vol. xi., p. 272.
Verse 4
Isaiah 2:4
We are asked how, with such passages written in sunbeams in the Book which we hold to be divine, we can regard with any complacency the acts and character of a warrior.
I. The old prophet, it is often said, was anticipating the Gospel or Christian age of the world, and was pointing out what ought to be its condition always, what some day will be actually its condition. I do not object to this statement, except for being too vague. The words, "He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people," cannot be diluted into the phrase, "The pure and benign doctrines of the Gospel or of Christianity shall be diffused over the world." They speak not of Christianity, but of Christ; not of a doctrine, but of a King. The language which describes Him here does not suggest, first of all, an image of tranquillity and peace. "He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people;" thus is He represented to us who, we believe, took upon Him the form of a servant, and was meek and lowly of heart. If, then, we make Christ our standard, we must honour any man who acknowledged right, who, we are confident, was a just man. It has been said that this sense of right and order is emphatically the quality of a soldier; and the consequence from it seems to be that the discipline and the character which is moulded by it deserve not our reprobation, but our admiration and imitation, because we are Christian men.
II. It is the next clause of the text, however, which is most frequently in people's mouths. "Observe," it is said, "how strong the words are. It is not that swords shall be thrown aside for plough-shares, or spears for pruning-hooks; the first are to be changed into the last, there being no use for them in their original shape." Then it would seem to follow that the material of which the peaceful instruments are made is the very same of which the warlike instruments were made—not the first of iron, and the other of some feeble and more flexible substance. Till, then, all the energies of war are faithfully represented in the acts and services of peace, the prophecy is not fulfilled.
III. But it is written further, "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation," etc. Observe that when the prophet says, "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation," he clearly assumes that there shall be distinct nations in the most perfect condition of society which can be conceived of. The distinctness of his own nation had been the assurance to him that God had chosen him and his fathers, that He Himself was in the midst of them. He longed for a time when each nation should have the same stable ground for its existence, when each should feel that the God of the whole earth was its God. Therefore let us be sure that if we would ever see a real family of nations, such as the prophets believed would one day emerge out of the chaos they saw around them—a family of nations which shall own God as their Father, and Christ as their Elder Brother—this must come from each nation maintaining its own integrity and unity.
F. D. Maurice, Sermons on the Sabbath Day, p. 78.
References: Isaiah 2:4.—H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, No. 2188; B. Jowett, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxvii., p. 177. Isaiah 2:5.—Clergyman's Magazine, vol. ix., p. 280; Preacher's Monthly, vol. iv., p. 340; Homiletic Quarterly, vol. ii., p. 263; Spurgeon, My Sermon Notes: Ecclesiastes to Malachi, p. 216; H. P. Liddon, Old Testament Outlines, p. 167.
Verse 11
Isaiah 2:11
I. In the day of judgment will be fulfilled, once and for ever, all the sayings and prophecies of our Lord and His Apostles concerning the exaltation of the lowly and the humiliation of the high and lofty ones. Recollect what are the things which we naturally most admire in this world, and see if they will not one and all come to an end in that day. (1) "All cedars of Lebanon which are high and lifted up," that is, the great and high-born persons, to whom God has given a place in the world above others. (2) "The high mountains and the hills that are lifted up." All this show of visible glories will have an end; and so will the kingdoms and empires, the companies and cities of men, to which in Scripture these mountains are compared. (3) In the next sentence the prophet passes from the creations of God to those of men: from the trees and mountains to "high towers and fenced walls," to the "ships of Tarshish and to pleasant pictures," i.e., to all those works and contrivances which we most admire when they belong to others, and on which, being our own, we are most tempted to rely. All these things the prophet speaks of, to warn us that the day of the Lord of hosts is fast coming upon them; that day which will put an end to them all.