Fury is not in Me.
--Of all the senses put upon this difficult verse there are only two which can be looked upon as natural or probable. The first may be paraphrased as follows:--It is not because I am cruel or revengeful that I thus afflict My people, but because she is a vineyard overrun with thorns or briars, on account of which I must pass through her and consume her (i.e., burn them out of her)
. The other is this: I am no longer angry with My people; oh, that their enemies (as thorns and briars) would array themselves against Me, that I might rush upon them and consume them. (J. A. Alexander.)
Liberty and discipline
I. A BLESSED ABSENCE IN THE NATURE OF GOD. “Fury is not in Me.” Fury seems to be uncontrolled and uncontrollable anger. A vessel in a storm, with its rudder gone or its screw broken, is passive in the power of winds and waves. A lion, who for hours has been disappointed of his prey, is passive under the dominion of his hunger. In both cases no influence, internal or external, is able to resist the onward course. And when a man is so in the hand of anger that no consideration from within or intercession from without can mollify him, when he is passive in its power, he is in a state of fury. But no such estate is possible to our God. His anger is always under control, and we have plentiful evidence that, in the height of His displeasure, He is accessible to intercession on behalf of His creatures. Nevertheless--
II. THIS BLESSED ABSENCE IN THE NATURE OF GOD IS COMPATIBLE WITH CONTENTION WITH THE UNREPENTING. “Who would set the briars and thorns against Me in battle?” etc. Imagine a father and son at variance, the father being in the right and the son in the wrong, There are two ways of reconciliation: either the son must comply with the conditions of the father, or the father must lower his standard to the level of the son. But what a wrong would the father do to himself, his family, and society if he were to adopt this course. He ought not, will not. If the son resolves to fight it out, reconciliation is impossible. This is the relative position of God and the ungodly man. God declares His conditions, “Let the wicked forsake his way,” etc. Consider what is involved in the conditions of the ungodly. Nothing less than the inversion of the whole moral law. God says, “I am Jehovah, I change not.” It is a blessed impossibility. But the unrepentant man ought, can, must! If not, the fire of goodness must be set against the briars of wickedness, a contest as hopeless, and of which the issue is as certain, as that of the devouring flame with briars and thorns.
III. THE ABSENCE OF FURY IN GOD LEADS HIM TO PREFER PARDON TO PUNISHMENT, AND TO PROVIDE MEANS FOR THE FORMER. “Let him take hold of My strength,” etc. Men, churches, and nations are lovers of peace in proportion as they are righteous (Psalms 72:3). The preference of God for peace depends upon the very attribute of which the ungodly would rob Him--namely, His righteousness. What is God’s strength? How take hold of it? When a man falls overboard at sea, the appointed means of rescue is the life belt which is thrown to him. Seizing that, he takes hold of the strength of the vessel to save him. When the man slayer, fleeing from the avenger of blood, entered the city of refuge, he took hold of God’s appointed means of shelter. God’s strength is His pardoning prerogative, exercised to us through Christ, the “arm,” or “strength,” of the Lord. (H. Bushnell, D. D.)
Fury not in God
I. FURY IS NOT IN GOD. But how can this be? Is not fury one manifestation of His essential attributes--do we not repeatedly read of His fury--of Jerusalem being full of the fury of the Lord--of God casting the fury of His wrath upon the world--of Him rendering His anger upon His enemies with fury--of Him accomplishing his fury upon Zion--of Him causing His fury to rest on the bloody and devoted city? We are not, therefore, to think that fury is banished altogether from God’s administration. There are times and occasions when this fury is discharged upon the objects of it; and there must be other times and occasions when there is no fury in Him. Now, what is the occasion upon which He disclaims all fury in our text? He is inviting men to reconciliation; and He is assuring them that if they will only take hold of His strength they shall make peace with Him. Fury will be discharged on those who reject the invitation. But we cannot say that there is any exercise of fury in God at the time of giving the invitation. There is the most visible and direct contrary. This very process was all gone through at and before the destruction of Jerusalem. It rejected the warnings and invitations of the Saviour, and at length experienced His fury. But there was no fury at the time of His giving the invitations. The tone of our Saviour’s voice when He uttered, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” was not the tone of a vindictive and irritated fury. There was compassion in it--a warning and pleading earnestness that they would mind the things which belong to their peace. Let us make the application to ourselves.
II. GOD IS NOT WANTING TO GLORIFY HIMSELF BY THE DEATH OF SINNERS. When God says, “Who would set the thorns and the briars against Me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together,” He speaks of the ease wherewith He could accomplish His wrath upon His enemies. They would perish before Him like the moth. Why set up, then, a contest so unequal as this? God is saying in the text that this is not what He is wanting. In the language of the next verse, He would rather that this enemy of His, not yet at peace with Him, and who may therefore be likened to a briar or a thorn, should take hold of His strength, that He may make peace with Him--and as the fruit of his so doing, He shall make peace with Him. Now tell me if this do not open up a most wonderful and a most inviting view of God? It is the real attitude in which He puts Himself forth to us in the gospel of His Son. What remains for you to do? God is willing to save you: are you willing to be saved?
III. THE INVITATION. “Or let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me.” “Or” here is the same with “rather.” Rather than that what is spoken of in the fourth verse should fall upon you. We have not far to seek for what is meant by this strength, for Isaiah himself speaks (Isaiah 33:6) of the strength of salvation.
1. We read of a mighty strength that had to be put forth in the work of a sinner’s justification. Just in proportion to the weight and magnitude of the obstacle was the greatness of that strength which the Saviour put forth in the mighty work of moving it away. A way of redemption has been found out in the unsearchable riches of Divine wisdom, and Christ is called the wisdom of God. But the same Christ is also called the power of God.
2. But there is also a strength put forth in the work of man’s regeneration.
3. When you apply to a friend for some service, some relief from distress or difficulty, you may be said to lay hold of him; and when you place firm reliance both on his ability and willingness to do the service, you may well say that your hold is upon your friend--an expression which becomes all the more appropriate should he promise to do the needful good office, in which case your hold is not upon his power only, but upon his faithfulness. And it is even so with the promises of God in Christ Jesus--you have both a power and a promise to take hold of. (T. Chalmers, D. D.)