Behold, all ye, &c.— Behold, all ye who strike out fire, and place fuel around; walk in the light of your fire, and of the fuel you have kindled. It is universally agreed, that the adversaries of the kingdom of Christ are here meant, particularly the Scribes and Pharisees, and all those who were most solicitous for the destruction of Christ, and who became afterwards the principal cause of the destruction of their own nation. The prophet's metaphor, in a general view, exhibits seditious and restless men, who, accustomed to stir up and to cherish commotions and seditions to ruin others, are by those very means themselves involved in ruin. See chap. 17, 18. The prophet seems to refer more immediately to the state of Jerusalem besieged and destroyed by the Romans.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, God will vindicate his ways to men, and prove his justice in the rejection of the Jewish people.
1. He desires that the cause of their rejection may be examined. Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement? intimating, either that God had not cast them off, but they, like an adultress, had treacherously departed from him; or, that if he had divorced them, if the bill was produced, the cause would be found abundantly to vindicate his proceeding: or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? fathers having such a right over their children among the Jews: but God owed nothing either to the Babylonians or Romans; and therefore, if they were captives, it was not of him, but themselves. Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away; to gratify their vile lusts, they provoked God, by their idolatries especially; and at last, by crucifying the Redeemer, they brought upon themselves destruction. Note; (1.) Though all who are saved owe it to God's free and unmerited grace, none are damned but must own it the just reward of their own obstinate impenitence. (2.) If sinners sell themselves to work wickedness, they can only hope to earn the wages of sin.
2. He upbraids them with their inattention to his calls by all his prophets, and especially by his Son, who came himself to warn them, yet none regarded. They paid no credit to his word, nor would be persuaded, that he who appeared in circumstances so mean was the almighty Redeemer promised, though he had given such instances of his glorious power in their former deliverances. At his rebuke the sea was divided; by him Jordan became a dry ground; he slew the fish of Egypt, when the rivers were turned into blood, and covered the Egyptians with that thick darkness which might be felt. Or it may refer to his power in raising the thick clouds, and, when he pleases, eclipsing the luminaries of heaven; in all which works his omnipotence is manifested.
2nd, We have our Lord proceeding in his work of redemption, for which he is every way so fully qualified.
1. As endued with the higher wisdom, that he might know how to preach the Gospel which brings rest to the weary soul; and constantly receiving from his Father, as the great prophet of his church, those lessons of instruction, which, with fidelity and zeal, rising up early, he inculcated on his disciples. Note; (1.) One of the greatest qualifications of a minister of God is, to know how to address the troubled conscience, and to speak the reasonable word to calm the tumult of the soul. (2.) It is God who gives the ability, and he alone can add the blessing. (3.) They who would serve God in the Gospel of his Son, must attentively hear him speaking in his revealed word, for there are all the hidden treasures of wisdom. (4.) Morning by morning must we be found upon our knees, asking the wisdom which cometh from above; for the most laborious researches of the human understanding in the Scriptures, without the teaching of God's Spirit, will never make us wise unto salvation.
2. Patiently suffering, he voluntarily yielded himself up to his Father's will; as the servant who had his ear bored, Exodus 21:5-6 became his master's property for ever; and when he was called to the severest trials, in the course of his obedience unto death for our redemption, he cheerfully met his sufferings, submitting to all that shame, insult, pain, and agony, which he endured from his wicked persecutors; see Matthew 26:67; Matthew 27:26. Mark 14:65.John 18:22. Note; The more we consider what Jesus so readily submitted to on our behalf, the more shall our hearts be comforted in the persuasion of his willingness to save all who come to him.
3. Powerfully supported, and boldly accomplishing his work in the face of all opposition. For the Lord will help me; as man, he needed support from his Father, and found it in the day of his calamity; therefore shall I not be confounded, so as to faint under his sufferings. Therefore have I set my face like a flint, against all the ignominious treatment to which he was exposed; and I know that I shall not be ashamed; his cause was good, and he was assured that in the issue he should not be disappointed, but see the redemption of all his faithful people completed. He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? Let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me. The charges that were laid against him by Satan, or by his malicious persecutors, were all answered; and God, by his resurrection from the dead, declared him fully acquitted of every accusation, and that he had made complete satisfaction for the sins of the world. Thus holpen of God, no condemnation remained against him; whilst all his enemies, doomed to ruin, like a moth-eaten garment, should utterly and irrecoverably perish. Note; (1.) They who are called to stand up for Christ, have need of courage, and to set their faces as a flint against the revilings of men. (2.) Christ's service will bear us out; and, however shameful in the eyes of men the preaching of the cross may appear, it is our greater glory. (3.) While our hearts are led up to God for strength, he will not fail us. (4.) A believer in Jesus may now challenge every accuser; the resurrection of his Lord gives him a plea which silences all condemnation. (5.) The enemies of Christ and his people, however they may prevail for a time, are doomed at last to perish for ever, and the worm which dieth not shall feed upon them.
3rdly, The sufficiency of the Lord Jesus for his undertaking being shewn, he here addresses saints and sinners, comforting the one, and warning the other.
1. He speaks a word of kind encouragement to sincere penitents. Their character is drawn as fearing the Lord, with reverence and regard, and obeying the voice of his servant; yet they walk in darkness, and see no light; exposed to severe afflictions, or destitute of their comfort, and full of fears and doubts about their interest in the Redeemer. In such a state of distress he bids them trust in the name of the Lord, against hope believing in hope; and staying themselves on their God, who, though they are in darkness, is willing to reveal himself to them. Note; In the darker dispensations of Providence there is still ground to say, My God; and as long as our faith do not fail, we shall not be cast away.
2. He speaks a word of conviction to the presumptuous. Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks; like Nadab and Abihu offering strange fire, setting up the light of nature instead of revelation; seeking, by works of righteousness which they can do, to obtain pardon from God, instead of renouncing themselves, to trust alone in the infinite merit of a Redeemer. Walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled; ironically spoken, as intimating the vanity and insufficiency of the methods they pursued: this shall ye have of mine hand, ye shall lie down in sorrow. The issue of your ways will be fatal: the light of nature can only lead you to outer darkness, and dependence on your own deserts and duties prove at last your eternal ruin. Note; Creature-comforts may administer a short-lived enjoyment, and self-dependence flatter us with a momentary hope; but soon will these sparks be extinguished, and death undeceive those who would not be undeceived before.