Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Isaiah 24:17

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Isaiah 24:17. Fear, and the pit - "The terror, the pit"] If they escape one calamity, another shall overtake them.

"As if a man should flee from a lion, and a bear should

overtake him:

Or should betake himself to his house, and lean his hand

on the wall,

And a serpent should bite him."

Amos 5:19.

"For," as our Saviour expressed it in a like parabolical manner, "wheresoever the carcass is there shall the eagles be gathered together," Matthew 24:28. The images are taken from the different methods of hunting and taking wild beasts, which were anciently in use. The terror was a line strung with feathers of all colours, which fluttering in the air scared and frightened the beasts into the toils, or into the pit which was prepared for them. Nec est mirum, cum maximos ferarum greges linea pennis distincta contineat, et in insidias agat, ab ipso effectu dicta formido. Seneca de Ira, ii. 12. The pit or pitfall, fovea; digged deep in the ground, and covered over with green boughs, turf, c., in order to deceive them, that they might fall into it unawares. The snare, or toils, indago a series of nets, inclosing at first a great space of ground, in which the wild beasts were known to be; and then drawn in by degrees into a narrower compass, till they were at last closely shut up, and entangled in them. - L.

For מכול mikkol, a MS. reads מפני mippeney, as it is in Jeremiah 48:44, and so the Vulgate and Chaldee. But perhaps it is only, like the latter, a Hebraism, and means no more than the simple preposition מ mem. See Psalms 102:6. For it does not appear that the terror was intended to scare the wild beasts by its noise. The paronomasia is very remarkable; פחד pachad, פחת pachath, פך pach: and that it was a common proverbial form, appears from Jeremiah's repeating it in the same words, Jeremiah 48:43-44.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

24:1-27:13 FINAL JUDGMENT AND SALVATION

The judgment of various contemporary nations leads the prophet to consider God’s final great judgment on the world. Naturally, his illustrations are taken from the world that he knew, and the nations he mentions are those of his time, but the principles of judgment and salvation that he presents are those of the unchangeable God. They will find their fullest expression in God’s mighty triumph at the end of the world’s history.

Some will mourn, others rejoice (24:1-25:12)

When God judges sinners, he will make no distinctions on the basis of status or class. All who have rebelled against God and ignored his law will be punished (24:1-5). There will be few survivors (6). In a world where people previously lived mainly to enjoy themselves, the most noticeable feature will be an absence of joy and merriment (7-11). The only ones spared in the widespread judgment will be the few who have remained faithful to God. These are compared to the odd grapes left here and there after harvest (12-13).
This remnant then praises God for his salvation. The prophet finds it difficult to share their joyous feelings, for he thinks of the sinful people around him and foresees their terrible punishment (14-16). There will be no way of escape when that day of judgment comes. The world will stagger and fall under the weight of its sins (17-20).
High rank will not save those who have rebelled against God. The rulers of nations will be thrown together like prisoners locked in a crowded dungeon as they await their final punishment (21-22). After all the sinners are removed, God will reign in glory so dazzling that even the sun and moon will appear dark by comparison (23).
At this reminder of the final triumph and glory of God, the prophet breaks forth in a song of praise to him whose victory has been planned from the beginning. When people see God destroy the things they have proudly built, they will turn and praise him (25:1-3). He will give relief to those who are oppressed and will silence the boastful oppressors (4-5).
God will celebrate his victory with a great feast, and introduce an era of joy where all signs of mourning are removed and the possibility of death is gone for ever (6-8). God’s people rejoice in his salvation (9), but his enemies suffer humiliating destruction. Their boasting cannot save them, and all their clever achievements finish in ruin (10-12).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth. And it shall come to pass that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble. The earth is utterly broken, the earth is rent asunder, the earth is shaken violently. The earth shall stagger like a drunken man, and shall sway to and fro like a hammock, and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall, and not rise again."

The first three verses here remind one of Amos 5:19:

"Wherefore would ye have the day of Jehovah? It is darkness and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of Jehovah be darkness and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it" (Amos 5:18 b-20).

Perhaps a few words are here in order with reference to why the final judgment will be such a terrible time for the human race. It all goes back to the primeval sentence in the Garden of Eden, where God told Adam and Eve that they would surely die "in the day they ate of the forbidden tree." Of course Adam and Eve ate; and the sentence of God still stands against them. God did not change his mind. He did not commute or change their sentence. He did not repeal it. It stands yet like the sword of Damocles over the head of Adam's race; and it will yet be executed! Adam and Eve shall indeed die in the person of their total posterity upon the planet earth upon the occasion of the final judgment, the second advent of the Son of God.

The commentators are generally ignorant of the great truth that "Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden tree on the seventh day"; and, therefore, that day, "the seventh day" of creation, not the seventh day of the week, namely the present dispensation, is the occasion when Adam and Eve shall die in the person of their total posterity, the only exceptions being the redeemed of God, especially the redeemed in Christ. For further light on this, one should read the discerning article by the Bishop of Edinburgh in the Pulpit Commentary.H. Cotterill, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. I, p. xxvii.

The fate of God's Operation Adam has already been decided, and the verdict has been announced. Amos and Isaiah are merely telling mankind what it is. Intelligent men should pay attention to it.

The great philosophers of our own day are not any more optimistic regarding the future of the human race on earth than were the inspired prophets of God. Our prospect is indeed darkness and not light, apart, that is, from the "Light of the World" who is Jesus Christ, our Lord.

These verses (Isaiah 24:17-20) also entail the account of cosmic disturbances that shall mark the final judgment. The great earthquake that shall move every mountain and every island out of its place (Revelation 6:14), resulting, as Isaiah reveals here, in the "fall of the earth," which shall "not rise again," thus supporting Peter's revelation that we shall indeed look for "A new heaven, and a new earth (2 Peter 3:13)." To us, it appears absolutely mandatory to view this portion of Isaiah as applicable to the final judgment.

Note the reference to the opening of the "windows on high," obviously the same as the "windows of heaven" that were opened during the Great Deluge; and because that judgment is connected with the final judgment (2 Peter 3), we feel that this prophecy implies the same thing.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Fear, and the pit - This verse is an explanation of the cause of the wretchedness referred to in the previous verse. The same expression is found in Jeremiah 48:43, in his account of the destruction that would come upon Moab, a description which Jeremiah probably copied from Isaiah - There is also here in the original a “paronomasia” that cannot be retained in a translation - פחד ופחת ופח pachad vâpachath vâpach - where the form פח pach occurs in each word. The sense is, that they were nowhere safe; that if they escaped one danger, they immediately fell into another. The expression is equivalent to that which occurs in the writings of the Latin classics:

Incidit in Scyllam cupiens vitare Charybdin.

The same idea, that if a man should escape from one calamity he would fall into another, is expressed in another form in Amos 5:19 :

As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him;

Or went into a house, and leaned his hand on the wall,

And a serpent bit him.

In the passage before us, there is an advance from one danger to another, or the subsequent one is more to be dreaded than the preceding. The figure is taken from the mode of taking wild beasts, where various nets, toils, or pitfalls were employed to secure them. The word ‘fear’ (פחד pachad), denotes anything that was used to frighten or arouse the wild beasts in hunting, or to drive them into the pitfall that was prepared for them. Among the Romans the name ‘fears’ (“formidines”) was given to lines or cords strung with feathers of all colors, which, when they fluttered in the air or were shaken, frightened the beasts into the pits, or the birds into the snares which were prepared to take them (Seneca, De Ira, ii. 122; virg. AE. xii. 7499; Geor. iii. 372). It is possible that this may be referred to here under the name of ‘fear.’ The word ‘pit’ (פחת pachat) denotes the pitfall; a hole dug in the ground, and covered over with bushes, leaves, etc., into which they might fall unawares. The word ‘snare’ (פח pach) denotes a net, or gin, and perhaps refers to a series of nets enclosing at first a large space of ground, in which the wild beasts were, and then drawn by degrees into a narrow compass, so that they could not escape.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

17Fear, and the pit, and the snare. The Prophet here discourses against the sins of the people. Formerly he declared that not only one nation, but very many and very distant nations, would have abundant grounds of thanksgiving. He now passes to another doctrine; for I think that these words ought to be separated from what goes before, because Isaiah again threatens the wicked, that they may know that amidst the highest prosperity of the Church they will be miserable. For the sake of cherishing their indifference, wicked men are accustomed rashly to apply the promises of God to themselves, though they do not at all belong to them; and therefore the prophets usually mingle threatenings with them. It is also possible that Isaiah delivered this discourse separately from the rest, and on a different occasion; for neither the prophets themselves nor other learned men divided the chapters. We have often seen different subjects joined together, and others divided which ought to have been joined, which was undoubtedly done through ignorance. However that may be, the Prophet returns to the wicked, and threatens against them severe and dreadful judgment.

This description of “fear, the pit, and the snare,” is intended to touch the feelings; for if he had said, in a single word, that destruction awaits the wicked, they would not have been greatly moved. But there is room for doubting if he addresses the Jews alone. For my own part, I should not be much inclined to dispute about this matter; but I think it is more probable that these threatenings related also to other nations, and even to the whole world, of which he had formally prophesied.

O inhabitant of the earth. By “the world” we understand those countries which were known to the Jews, as we have already explained. The meaning is, “Thou art pressed by afflictions so diversified, that thou hast no means of escape.” Amos gives a similar description: “He who shall flee through dread of a lion shall meet a bear; and if he go into the house, when he leaneth on a wall, a serpent shall bite him.” (Amos 5:19.) Isaiah formerly said that lions would be sent against the Moabites who had escaped from the battle. (Isaiah 15:9.) God has an endless variety of scourges for punishing the wicked. It is as if he had said, “Know that you cannot escape the hand of God; for he has various methods by which he takes vengeance on their crimes, and thus overtakes those who had hoped to escape by a variety of contrivances. He who escapes from the battle shall be tormented with hunger; and when he is freed from hunger, he will meet some other calamity, as if nets had been laid on all sides to ensnare you.”

For the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth are shaken. This argument confirms what had been already said, that it is impossible for them to escape the vengeance of God, who has prepared for it a free course in heaven and in earth, from the utmost height of heaven down to the depths of the earth. Some think that he alludes (Genesis 7:11) to the deluge; but, in my opinion, the meaning is simpler, that the wrath of God will be revealed above and below; as if he had said, “The Lord will arm heaven and earth to execute his vengeance against men, that wherever they turn their eyes, they may behold nothing but destruction.”

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 24

Now as we get into chapter 24, we get into, really, things that the earth will be facing very soon, because we get into things that will be happening during the Great Tribulation as the Lord is preparing the earth for the return of Jesus Christ. Purging the earth before the return in His second coming.

Behold, the LORD makes the earth empty, he makes it waste, and turns it upside down, and scatters abroad the inhabitants thereof ( Isaiah 24:1 ).

Now this sounds like it could refer to a polar axis flip. "He turneth it upside down." There are some physicists who speak of a polar axis flip. By studying the ions in iron ore, because the positive poles are in the wrong direction they theorized that at one time the magnetic poles were different than what they are today, and that there has actually been a polar shift. And you can get quite a bit of material in the various papers and all that were done by the physicists who have made a study of this ion in, the ionic structures really, and the changes that have taken place through periods of time.

In the book Worlds in Collision by Immanuel Velikovsky, it is his premise in the book that the planet Venus was introduced into our solar system during the time of recorded history. That it actually was a comet that came into our solar system, made a close pass to the earth during the time of the plagues upon Egypt. And he attributes many of these plagues to this Venus being introduced. In fact, the pillar of fire he theorizes was actually this comet, the planet Venus. And that it moved out, but yet came back in at the time of Joshua's long day when the earth stood still. And that the earth stood still as the result of this close pass of this comet Venus. It came so close that a gigantic electrical spark came between the earth and Venus that stopped the earth. And when the earth began its rotation again, it began to rotate in the opposite direction. That before the earth was actually rotating from west to east, but after this close pass...

And he gives some records out of Babylonian astronomy charts showing where in the older charts the planet Venus doesn't exist. And yet it's one of the brightest planets in the sky. And he gives all kinds. It's a fascinating book. It's created quite a furor in the scientific circles, but it would seem that more and more they are beginning to accept some of the theories at least that he presents in this book Worlds in Collision. If you like just good interesting reading of someone who brings up a lot of interesting things that he is seeking to make points off of. I found the book very fascinating. That with Ages in Chaos and then his latest book Earths in Upheaval. But the basic premise is that the planet Venus was then locked into a solar orbit and became a part of our solar system. But it happened during the period of history.

And he... I like the book because he proves that the long day of Joshua did exist. If it was a long night, or long evening, afternoon over there, then it would have been a long night over here. So he goes into the Inca records and finds a long night recorded in the Inca records. And all the way around he follows the whole thing around the earth and the Chinese records, and the Indian records, in the islands, some of the records. And he follows this thing all around the world and correlates. It would be a long morning here. It would be a long afternoon. It would be a long evening. Long night and so forth. And he correlates these things in the histories and the records of ancient men. And really confirming the fact that that long day did take place. The rest of the world didn't understand why, only Joshua and his men really knew why the sun stood still. It was to give them a chance to totally wipe out their enemy. But it was, he really, of course, when the long night took or when the long afternoon took place, it said that God began to throw rocks at their enemy and more were destroyed by the rocks.

And he believes that these were the debris from the tale of this comet Venus that just pelted the enemies of Joshua. Of course, that's man trying to look at it from a natural standpoint and explain things from a natural standpoint, because it would be sort of difficult to explain why the rocks only hit the enemy instead of Joshua's troops, too, you see.

But it is interesting, fascinating. I enjoyed reading it. It's a lot of original type of thinking and I just like original thinking. So the Lord speaks here about He's going to turn the world upside down. "Scatter abroad the inhabitants thereof." Velikovsky believes that it caused a polar shift at that time and that it's going to happen again.

And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly emptied ( Isaiah 24:2-3 ),

In other words, it's going to come on everybody. Nobody's going to escape it; rich or poor are going to be affected alike. "The land shall be utterly emptied."

and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word ( Isaiah 24:3 ).

And, of course, this will take place during this Great Tribulation period, where not only will men through wars be devastating the earth, but there will also be corresponding cataclysmic events being sent from God that are just going to devastate the planet Earth. Be no time to be here, I'll tell you.

The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, they have changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left ( Isaiah 24:4-6 ).

Very few will actually make it through the entire Great Tribulation period. Very few will come out on the other side.

The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merry-hearted do sigh. The mirth of tabrets ceases, and the noise of them that rejoice ends, and the joy of the harp ceases. They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. The city of confusion is broken down: and every house is shut up, that no man may come in. There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone. And the city is left desolate, and the gate is smitten with destruction. When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done. They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud from the sea. Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even the name of the LORD God of Israel in the coasts of the sea. From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously. For fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the eaRuth ( Isaiah 24:7-17 ).

"Fear, the pit and the snare." Now we are told that the antichrist, the beast "that thou sawest who was and is not shall ascend out of the pit, out of the abusso." So it's talking about the time during the reign of the antichrist, a reign of tyranny and fear. And Jesus speaks about the days of the Great Tribulation as being a snare. Jesus said that you should beware of gluttony, of drunkenness and the cares of this world. For they shall be as a snare upon the inhabitants of the earth in that time. So the Great Tribulation period.

And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake ( Isaiah 24:18 ).

It's going to be a tremendous cataclysmic, wild time upon the earth. They are saying more and more, I've heard it several times this week. Of course, because this week was the celebration, if you can call it that, of the earthquake that shook San Francisco seventy-five years ago. So this is the seventy-fifth year from the quake in San Francisco, 1906. And they had celebrations and so forth. They estimate that the quake that devastated San Francisco was about an 8.3 on the Richter scale. They didn't have Richter scales in those days so they estimated the earthquake to be about that intensity and all of the scientists said, "And we are expecting another earthquake to shake this area and it's overdue and it's coming very soon and we're sure that another one is coming soon and it will probably be about the same intensity."

I don't know where I would want to be if an 8.3 earthquake would shake this area. Surely not on the freeway, because it will topple every freeway overpass. The one in Sylmar a few years ago was only 6.5 and it devastated areas of the freeway up there. And, of course, with each point you're ten times more powerful. So you get an 8.3 earthquake and you've got total devastation. God says, "I'm gonna just shake the foundations of the earth." This isn't a localized quake. This is something that's going to hit the whole earth. What we see is kids' play, just a little move on the San Andreas fault line that shakes up us here along the coast. God's going to shake the foundations of the world.

Now it speaks about the foundations of the world being shaken one other time and that was the time of Noah's flood. And really a part of the great devastation from Noah's flood was from the shaking of the foundations of the world.

The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage [or a summer house]; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again ( Isaiah 24:19-20 ).

So God is going to shake the earth. It will reel to and fro like a drunkard, be removed like a cottage. Now those physicists who talk about the polar axis shift say that before the earth goes into the polar axis shift, that it goes into a wobble. Much like a top. You spin a top and as long as the momentum is going, it stands up straight. But as the momentum begins to slow down, then the top begins to wobble. And as the momentum continues to slow down, it begins to go into a violent wobble. And then what happens? The top flips over. So they say the earth is like a top spinning. But that as the earth's rotation seems to slow down that it goes into a wobble state and then it flips on its axis. And you have a polar axis shift.

Well, it has been interesting. They have been measuring the earth wobble lately. And, of course, it moves in cycles every seven years. It comes to its peak and then it seems to sort of straighten up again and then it begins to increase and increase and increase. But the wobble of the earth is increasing more all the time.

Now here is Isaiah knowing nothing about earth wobbles, knowing nothing about polar axis shifts or anything else, talks about it. He says the earth is going to be moving to and fro like a drunken man, and then it's going to be moved out of its place. So it would appear that there is going to be tremendous cataclysmic changes that are going to transpire upon the earth.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones ( Isaiah 24:21 )

Now who is he referring to here? "The host of the high one,s" is when God brings into judgment the angelic forces of evil. You see, when Jesus comes again, "in that day, the Lord will punish the host of the high ones." When Jesus comesthat again, the antichrist and the false prophet will be cast into Gehenna. Satan will be bound with a great chain and cast into the abusso. And those that follow with him. So that God is going to judge these spirit entities that, as Paul the apostle said in Ephesians, "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against these spiritual entities in high places" ( Ephesians 6:12 ). So,

in that day the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the eaRuth ( Isaiah 24:21 ).

The twofold judgment of the spirit beings. Those demonic forces, also the evil men. The day of judgment, day of wrath.

And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit ( Isaiah 24:22 ),

Now you remember the demon said to Jesus, "Hey, don't throw us into the pit before our time." They were pleading with Jesus that He wouldn't throw them into the pit. They know that their time is coming when they are to be cast into the abusso with Satan. Satan is bound with a great chain and thrown into the pit. And so they will be gathered as prisoners and be put in the abusso in the pit.

and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited ( Isaiah 24:22 ).

After a thousand years Satan will be released for a short period. And then he and his followers will be cast into Gehenna, a place of outer darkness. A place that is out beyond the furthest galaxy. Out into space and to the darkness beyond the light of any galaxy. Outer darkness, where there's weeping and wailing.

The moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously ( Isaiah 24:23 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The preservation of God’s people within a world under divine judgment 24:1-20

Isaiah revealed that the Lord’s people are at the center of His plans for the world (cf. Isaiah 14:2; Isaiah 21:10). He will preserve them even though He will judge sinful humanity. It is believers who will be living on the earth during the Lord’s devastation of this planet that are in view (Tribulation saints), not Christians living before the Tribulation who will be taken to heaven in the Rapture before the Tribulation begins. This passage contains many connections with the Flood narrative (Genesis 6-9). Essentially, what God did in Noah’s day-i.e., the preservation of the righteous-He will do in the future Tribulation (cf. Mark 13).

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The effects of the coming judgment 24:7-20

Isaiah expounded on the effects of human sin in a poem, which follows.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Those who are the objects of God’s judgment will not be able to escape it because He will use the forces of nature to judge them, above them and below them (cf. Genesis 7:11; Revelation 6:12; Revelation 8:5; Revelation 8:7; Revelation 11:13; Revelation 11:19; Revelation 16:18; Revelation 16:21). "Windows above and foundations below" is a merism indicating totality. God Himself would be the agent of their destruction (cf. 2 Samuel 22:8; Psalms 139:7-12; Amos 5:19).

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Fear, and the pit, and the snare, [are] upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth. This is to be understood not of the land of Judea only, and the inhabitants of it, but of all the earth; Kimchi interprets it of the nations of the world, particularly the Greeks and Turks; but the whole world, and the inhabitants of it, are meant, as the following verses show. There is an elegant play on words in the Hebrew, which cannot well be expressed in English, in the words "pachad, pachath, pach", fear, pit, and a snare; which are expressive of a variety of dangers, difficulties, and distresses; there seems to be an allusion to creatures that are hunted, who flee through fear, and fleeing fall into pits, or are entangled in snares, and so taken. Before the last day, or second coming of Christ to judge the world, there will be great perplexity in men's minds, great dread and fear upon their hearts, and much distress of nations; and the coming of the Son of Man will be as a snare upon the earth; see Luke 21:25.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      16 From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.   17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.   18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.   19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.   20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.   21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.   22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.   23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

      These verses, as those before, plainly speak,

      I. Comfort to saints. They may be driven, by the common calamities of the places where they live, into the uttermost parts of the earth, or perhaps they are forced thither for their religion; but there they are singing, not sighing. Thence have we heard songs, and it is a comfort to us to hear them, to hear that good people carry their religion along with them even to the most distant regions, to hear that God visits them there and gives encouragement to hope that he will gather them thence, Deuteronomy 30:4. And this is their song, even glory to the righteous: the word is singular, and may refer to the righteous God, who is just in all he has brought upon us. This is glorifying the Lord in the fires. Or the meaning may be, "These songs redound to the glory or beauty of the righteous that sing them." We do the greatest honour imaginable to ourselves when we employ ourselves in honouring and glorifying God. This may have reference to the sending of the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth, as far as this island of ours, in the days of the Messiah, the glad tidings of which are echoed back in songs heard thence, from churches planted there, even glory to the righteous God, agreeing with the angels' song, Glory be to God in the highest, and glory to all righteous men; for the work of redemption was ordained before the world for our glory.

      II. Terror to sinners. The prophet, having comforted himself and others with the prospect of a saved remnant, returns to lament the miseries he saw breaking in like a mighty torrent upon the earth: "But I said, My leanness! my leanness! woe unto me! The very thought of it frets me, and makes me lean," Isaiah 24:16; Isaiah 24:16. He foresees,

      1. The prevalency of sin, that iniquity should abound (Isaiah 24:16; Isaiah 24:16): The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; this is itself a judgment, and that which provokes God to bring other judgments. (1.) Men are false to one another; there is no faith in man, but a universal dishonesty. Truth, that sacred bond of society, has departed, and there is nothing but treachery in men's dealings. See Jeremiah 9:1; Jeremiah 9:2. (2.) They are all false to their God; as to him, and their covenant with him, the children of men are all treacherous dealers, and have dealt very treacherously with their God, in departing from their allegiance to him. This is the original, and this the aggravation, of the sin of the world; and, when men have been false to their God, how should they be true to any other?

      2. The prevalency of wrath and judgment for that sin. (2.) The inhabitants of the earth will be pursued from time to time, from place to place, by one mischief or other (Isaiah 24:17; Isaiah 24:18): Fear, and the pit, and the snare (fear of the pit and the snare) are upon them wherever they are; for the sons of men know not what evil they may suddenly be snared in, Ecclesiastes 9:12. These three words seem to be chosen for the sake of an elegant paranomasia, or, as we now scornfully call it, a jungle of words: Pachad, and Pachath, and Pach; but the meaning is plain (Isaiah 24:18; Isaiah 24:18), that evil pursues sinners (Proverbs 13:21), that the curse shall overtake the disobedient (Deuteronomy 28:15), that those who are secure because they have escaped one judgment know not how soon another may arrest them. What this prophet threatens all the inhabitants of the earth with another makes part of the judgment of Moab, Jeremiah 48:43. But it is a common instance of the calamitous state of human life that when we seek to avoid one mischief we fall into a worse, and that the end of one trouble is often the beginning of another; so that we are least safe when we are most secure. (2.) The earth itself will be shaken to pieces. It will be literally so at last, when all the works therein shall be burnt up; and it is often figuratively so before that period. The windows from on high are open to pour down wrath, as in the universal deluge. Upon the wicked God shall rain snares (Psalms 11:6); and, the fountains of the great deep being broken up, the foundations of the earth do shake of course, the frame of nature is unhinged, and all is in confusion. See how elegantly this is expressed (Isaiah 24:19; Isaiah 24:20): The earth is utterly broken down; it is clean dissolved; it is moved exceedingly, moved out of its place. God shakes heaven and earth,Haggai 2:6. See the misery of those who lay up their treasure in the things of the earth and mind those things; they place their confidence in that which will shortly be utterly broken down and dissolved. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard; so unsteady, so uncertain, are all the motions of these things. Worldly men dwell in it as in a palace, as in a castle, as in an impregnable tower; but it shall be removed like a cottage, so easily, so suddenly, and with so little loss to the great landlord. The pulling down of the earth will be but like the pulling down of a cottage, which the country is willing to be rid of, because it does but harbour beggars; and therefore no care is taken to rebuild it: It shall fall, and not rise again; but there shall be new heavens and a new earth, in which shall dwell nothing but righteousness. But what is it that shakes the earth thus and sinks it? It is the transgression thereof that shall be heavy upon it. Note, Sin is a burden to the whole creation; it is a heavy burden, a burden under which it groans now and will sink at last. Sin is the ruin of states, and kingdoms, and families; they fall under the weight of that talent of lead,Zechariah 5:7; Zechariah 5:8. (3.) God will have a particular controversy with the kings and great men of the earth (Isaiah 24:21; Isaiah 24:21): He will punish the host of the high ones. Hosts of princes are no more before God than hosts of common men; what can a host of high ones do with their combined force when the Most High, the Lord of hosts, contends with them to abase their height, and scatter their hosts, and break all their confederacies? The high ones, that are on high, that are puffed up with their height and grandeur, that think themselves so high that they are out of the reach of any danger, God will visit upon them all their pride and cruelty, with which they have oppressed and injured their neighbours and subjects, and it shall now return upon their own heads. The kings of the earth shall now be reckoned with upon the earth, to show that verily there is a God that judges in the earth and will render to the proudest of kings according to the fruit of their doings. Let those that are trampled upon by the high ones of the earth comfort themselves with this, that though they cannot, dare not, must not, resist them, yet there is a God that will call them to an account, that will triumph over them upon their own dunghill: for the earth they are kings of is in the eye of God no better. This is general only. It is particularly foretold (Isaiah 24:22; Isaiah 24:22) that they shall be gathered together as prisoners, convicted condemned prisoners, are gathered in the pit, or dungeon, and there they shall be shut up under close confinement. The kings and high ones, who took all possible liberty themselves, and took a pride and pleasure in shutting up others, shall now be themselves shut up. Let not the free man glory in his freedom, any more than the strong man in his strength, for he knows not what restraints he is reserved for. But after many days they shall be visited, either, [1.] They shall be visited in wrath; it is the same word, in another form, that is used (Isaiah 24:21; Isaiah 24:21), the Lord shall punish them; they shall be reserved to the day of execution, as condemned prisoners are, and as fallen angels are reserved in chains of darkness to the judgment of the great day,Jude 1:6. Let this account for the delays of divine vengeance; sentence is not executed speedily, because execution-day has not yet come, and perhaps will not come till after many days; but it is certain that the wicked is reserved for the day of destruction, and is therefore preserved in the mean time, but shall be brought forth to the day of wrath,Job 21:30. Let us therefore judge nothing before the time. [2.] They shall be visited in mercy, and be discharged from their imprisonment, and shall again obtain, if not their dignity, yet their liberty. Nebuchadnezzar, in his conquests, made many kings and princes his captives, and kept them in the dungeon in Babylon, and, among the rest, Jehoiachin King of Judah; but after many days, when Nebuchadnezzar's head was laid, his son visited them, and granted (as should seem) some reviving to them all in their bondage; for it is made an instance of his particular kindness to Jehoiachin that he set his throne above the throne of the rest of the kings that were with him,Jeremiah 52:32. If we apply this to the general state of mankind, it imports a revolution of conditions; those that were high are punished, those that were punished are relieved, after many days, that none in this world may be secure though their condition be ever so prosperous, nor any despair though their condition be ever so deplorable.

      3. Glory to God in all this, Isaiah 24:23; Isaiah 24:23. When all this comes to pass, when the proud enemies of God's church are humbled and brought down, (1.) Then it shall appear, beyond contradiction, that the Lord reigns, which is always true, but not always alike evident. When the kings of the earth are punished for their tyranny and oppression, then it is proclaimed and proved to all the world that God is King of kings--King above them, by whom they are accountable--that he reigns as Lord of hosts, of all hosts, of their hosts,--that he reigns in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, in his church, for the honour and welfare of that, pursuant to the promises on which that is founded, reigns in his word and ordinances,--that he reigns before his ancients, before all his saints, especially before his ministers, the elders of his church, who have their eye upon all the out-goings of his power and providence, and, in all these events, observe his hand. God's ancients, the old disciples, the experienced Christians, that have often, when they have been perplexed, gone into the sanctuary of God in Zion and Jerusalem, and acquainted themselves with his manifestations of himself there, shall see more than others of God's dominion and sovereignty in these operations of his providence. (2.) Then it shall appear, beyond comparison, that he reigns gloriously, in such brightness and lustre that the moon shall be confounded and the sun ashamed, as the smaller lights are eclipsed and extinguished by the greater. Great men, who thought themselves to have as bright a lustre and as vast a dominion as the sun and moon, shall be ashamed when God appears above them, much more when he appears against them. Then shall their faces be filled with shame, that they may seek God's name. The eastern nations worshipped the sun and moon; but, when God shall appear so gloriously for his people against his and their enemies, all these pretended deities shall be ashamed that ever they received the homage of their deluded worshippers. The glory of the Creator infinitely outshines the glory of the brightest creatures. In the great day, when the Judge of heaven and earth shall shine forth in his glory, the sun shall by his transcendent lustre be turned into darkness and the moon into blood.