Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Isaiah 34:13

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Isaiah 34:13. And thorns shall come up in her palaces — ועלו בארמנותיה vealu bearmenotheyha; so read all the ancient versions.

A court for owls. — יענה yaanah, the ostrich, from ענה anah, to cry, because of the noise it makes. "They roar," says Dr. Shaw, "sometimes like a lion-sometimes like a bull. I have often heard them groan as if in the utmost distress."

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

34:1-35:10 MORE ABOUT JUDGMENT AND SALVATION

Jerusalem’s final triumph over Assyria is followed by further pictures of God’s final judgment on the world and the blessings that will follow. (See notes on the introduction to 24:1-27:13.) God’s enemies in this section are represented by one of Israel’s most ancient enemies, Edom.

Punishment of the wicked (34:1-17)

God calls sinners together to hear his judgment and receive his punishment. This judgment affects people worldwide, and involves the entire physical creation. Nothing in the heavens or on the earth can exist independently of God and nothing can withstand his power (34:1-4). One picture of this judgment is that of a great slaughter of animals, as if for sacrifice. The rebellious will fall by the sword of God’s judgment (5-7). They will suffer a fitting punishment for their persecution and slaughter of God’s people (8).
The scene then shifts to the earthly homeland of these people. Their country will be turned into a place of terrible torment, fear and confusion, a place that no human being would ever want to inhabit (9-11). The glory of its kingdom will be gone, and the ruins of its military defences will be inhabited by all sorts of fearsome animals and dreaded demons (12-15). This judgment has been determined by God, who has recorded the details in a book so that people everywhere might be assured that it is his doing (16-17).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"And the streams of Edom shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up forever; from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it forever and ever. But the pelican and the porcupine shall possess it; and the owl and the raven shall dwell therein: and he will stretch over it the line of confusion, and the plummet of emptiness. They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there; and all its princes shall be nothing. And thorns shall come up in its palaces, nettles and thistles in the fortresses thereof; and it shall be a habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches. And the wild beasts of the desert shall meet with the wolves, and the wild goat shall cry to his fellow; yea, the night-monster shall settle there, and shall find her a place of rest. There shall the dart-snake make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shade; yea, there shall the kites be gathered, everyone with her mate."

"Streams into pitch… dust into brimstone" "These words, along with the haunted ruins of Isaiah 34:11 ff bring both Sodom and Babylon to mind";The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 609. and they provide part of the evidence here that the final judgment is the theme. However, it is evident that both the earthly judgments against Edom and that of the Final Day are mingled in the description. This is true because other pictures of the final destruction of Adam's race declare that "no living thing whatever" will be left (Zephaniah 1:1-3).

The judgments against Sodom and Gomorrah and that of Babylon are both typical of the Final Day; and for that reason, the comparison suggested here enables us to classify the judgment against Edom in the same way. Like Babylon, Edom will be nothing but a waste land generation after generation. This, of course, has already happened.

The word rendered "night-monster" in Isaiah 34:14 comes from a proper name in the Hebrew, Lilith, which is of uncertain interpretation.J. D. Douglas, The New Bible Dictionary, p. 740. There is some possibility that it might refer to a demon. Peake believed that all of the creatures mentioned here as dwelling in deserted and wasted Edom were "Satyrs,"Peake's Commentary Series, p. 458. that is, "gods, or gods that looked like goats, i.e., demonic creatures."J. D. Douglas, The New Bible Dictionary, p. 1147.

"Isaiah 34:15, then is meant to mirror the total absence of any human beings."The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 794. And, in view of the first three verses of Zephaniah, where God promised to destroy every living creature, it could be that only spiritual beings such as demons in the service of the devil would inhabit places such as Babylon and Edom were doomed to be.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

And thorns ... - (see the note at Isaiah 5:6)

It shall be an habitation of dragons - On the meaning of the word ‘dragons,’ see the note at Isaiah 13:22.

Court for owls - A place of resort, a residence of owls. The word rendered ‘court’ (חציר châtsı̂yr) means a dwelling-place, a habitation, as well as an enclosure or court. The margin is, ‘Daughters of the owl,’ or ‘ostriches’ (see the note at Isaiah 13:21). ‘I would,’ says Stephens, when standing amidst the ruins of Petra, the capital of Idumea (see the note at Isaiah 16:1), and with this passage of Isaiah in his eye, ‘I would that the sceptic could stand as I did, among the ruins of this city among the rocks, and there open the sacred book, and read the words of the inspired penman, written when this desolate place was one of the greatest cities in the world. I see the scoff arrested, his cheek pale, his lip quivering, and his heart quaking with fear, as the ancient city cries out to him in a voice loud and powerful as one risen from the dead; though be would not believe Moses and the prophets, he believes the hand-writing of God himself, in the desolation and eternal ruin around him.’ (Incidents of Travel in Egypt, etc., vol. ii. p. 76.)

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

13.In her palaces she shall bring forth thorns. He pursues the same subject; for he describes a frightful desolation, by which splendid houses and palaces are levelled to the ground, or reduced to a state so wild that they are of no use to men, but produce only briers, thorns, and nettles; which is more disgraceful than if they had been turned into fields and meadows. In this manner does the Lord punish the insolence of those who built lofty and magnificent houses and costly palaces, that the remembrance of them might be handed down to the latest posterity. Having banished men, he turns those dwellings into nests of birds and dens of wild beasts, that, instead of being, as they expected, the trophies of their name and renown, they may stand as monuments of foolish ambition. Thus the place of men is nearly supplied by beasts, which represent the dispositions of those who reared those goodly edifices. This overthrow of order is likewise a sad token of the wrath of God, when the earth, which was created for the use of man, beholds its natural lords banished, and is compelled to admit other inhabitants; for then, undoubtedly, it is cleansed from the defilements with which it was polluted.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 34

Come near, ye nations, to hear; hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation ( Isaiah 34:1-2 )

A term that is used in the Old Testament for the Great Tribulation period.

the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations ( Isaiah 34:2 ),

Or the wrath of God, the Great Tribulation.

his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and the smell shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood ( Isaiah 34:2-3 ).

Throughout the entire valley of Jezreel, the blood will flow to the horses' bridles we are told in the great battle of Armageddon, as God destroys the armies of man upon the earth.

And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree ( Isaiah 34:4 ).

This phrase is used or this symbol is used by Joel and repeated by Christ in Matthew 24:1-51 , but in Joel's prophecy chapter 2, verse Joel 2:30-31, he speaks of the stars of the heaven falling as a fig tree drops its untimely figs. A tremendous meteorite shower that will strike the earth.

Out in the Arizona desert near Winslow, Arizona, there is a huge crater that is called the Meteorite Crater. Now most meteorites burn up in our atmosphere and don't hit the earth. But when one does hit the earth, if they are of any size at all, they leave a tremendous dent upon the earth. That meteorite crater is about a mile across and a couple thousand feet deep there in Arizona. Quite awesome to stand on the rim and look down in.

In 1906 there was a meteorite that hit in Siberia that leveled the pine trees for miles like they were toothpicks. In fact, so great was the destruction of that meteorite in Siberia that some scientists believe that it was perhaps composed of antimatter. For it is hard to conceive of devastation that extensive from just a plain meteorite. And so they believe that perhaps it was of antimatter. Now, antimatter would be a molecular structure that is opposite to what we generally know as atoms where you have the proton in the heart of the nucleus of the atom with the electrons revolving around it. In the antimatter it would be the electrons in the nucleus with the protons revolving around it. And they believe that if matter and antimatter hit that you have just this tremendous double-charged atomic explosion with matter and antimatter.

And it is something that the physicists have theorized as a possibility that antimatter exists in the universe, as well as matter. And that the combination of the two is devastating. And some have even suggested that that meteorite that hit Siberia about 1906 was of antimatter, and thus explain the tremendous devastation that was caused. But imagine the devastation that will come when there comes the meteorite shower upon the earth that just really begins to create these huge, awesome craters.

Now it is interesting that in about 1986 we are anticipating the return of Haley's Comet. And though it is possible that at this time Haley's Comet will make its turn on the other side of the sun, and it may be that Haley's Comet will not even be visible to those that are here upon the earth. Yet, the big concern of the scientists concerning Haley's Comet is not how close it's going to approach to the earth, but the fact that every time Haley's Comet comes along it leaves all kinds of debris in our solar system. And that as the earth makes its orbit around the sun, it passes through the junk, the debris that is left by the tail of Haley's Comet. The comet's tail is some a hundred million miles long and is just space junk. Just a lot of debris, meteorites and chunks and all out there in the tail of Haley's Comet. It seems to follow the comet around and give that long glow of the tail.

Two times a year the astronomers can predict tremendous meteorite activity. What has the scientists and the government right now concerned is that when Haley's Comet comes around again, it no doubt is going to create-as our earth in its orbit (though we may not even see Haley's Comet)-when we come into the fresh debris from the tail of Haley's Comet, we are going to have an unusually heavy bombardment of meteorites again. The thing that is of grave concern is the delicate balance of the ozone in our atmosphere. Already because of the fluorocarbon gases that have neutralized the ozone and turned it into a nitric oxide, and the blanket has been heavily depleted, what they are fearful of is a further depletion by the unusually heavy bombardment of the meteorites from the tail of Haley's Comet and it may be sufficient to deplete the ozone blanket to the degree that the earth will be subjected at that time to extra heavy ultraviolet radiation from the sun which will cause exposure to the sun to give you a violent burn and ultraviolet radiation rash.

Now last year in one of the water baptismal services where I was out in the water for a prolonged period of time, I got an ultraviolet radiation rash. Because of my length of time there in the water, the exposure to the sun, because the ozone blanket is being depleted constantly. Our atomic testing, atmospheric testing of atomic weapons had an effect upon the ozone blanket. The SST has an effect upon the ozone blanket, as do meteorites and as do the fluorocarbon gases used in the sprays. And though the United States has more or less created laws against the fluorocarbon gases, the other nations of the world haven't and they still use the fluorocarbon aerosprays and all.

With the depletion of the ozone it then creates this condition with the ultraviolet rays of the sun and the burning that you get, which all is interesting from a prophetic standpoint. Because the Bible speaks of this time when there's going to be a heavy meteorite shower. It will be like a fig tree casting forth its untimely figs, the stars of heaven falling. Now not literal stars, but we do call them even today. "Oh, did you see that falling star?" We know that they are meteorites, but they are still today called falling stars. And so he's using the language of the people in describing the stars of the heaven falling to the earth. Not literal stars, but the meteorite showers. And he speaks of this heavy meteorite activity.

But then he also speaks in conjunction with it in Revelation. "And power will be given to the sun to scorch men who dwell upon the earth" ( Revelation 16:8 ). And men will become blistered and all as the result of the scorching of the sun. And so it is very interesting that these things are being anticipated for the year 1986 or so when Haley's Comet again makes its visit into our solar system.

And, of course, right now there is an intensive scientific project to seek to determine what effect the debris of the tail of Haley's Comet will have upon the ozone blanket around the earth. A group of scientists have been commissioned by the president to study this particular phenomenon and its possible effect upon the earth. Who knows? It's just food for thought. Put that in your little computer and work on it.

So, "The host of heaven will be dissolved, the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree."

For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea ( Isaiah 34:5 ),

The area of Saudi Arabia today.

and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah ( Isaiah 34:5-6 ),

Which was one of the chief cities of Edom.

and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea. And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness. For it is the day of the LORD'S vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion ( Isaiah 34:6-8 ).

God's vengeance, His year of recompense for the controversy of Zion or Jerusalem. Now it is interesting, of course, that Saudi Arabia has been the main financier of the armaments for the Arab states to attack Israel. Saudi Arabia is the main financier for the PLO and their arms. And Saudi Arabia has been the financial backer behind the attacks against Israel. God speaks about the day of the vengeance and the recompense for Zion.

And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch [or into oil], and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land shall become burning pitch ( Isaiah 34:9 ).

I wonder what would be the effect there in Saudi Arabia where the oil is so close to the surface and there's such a tremendous abundance of oil. What would be the effect of an atomic bomb dropped in that area? Igniting the oils that are under the ground and what would be the effect of something like that. It said.

It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever. But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness. They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing ( Isaiah 34:10-12 ).

Of course, Saudi Arabia is ruled by four thousand princes actually. This big family and all of the relations are the ones that are gaining from the wealth, not the general public there.

And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls. The wild beasts of the desert shall meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest. There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate. Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: not one of these things shall fail ( Isaiah 34:13-16 ),

"When this comes to pass," Isaiah says, "get out this book." When these things... when this area is burning with this fire and all, just get out this book and read it and you'll realize that God has written in advance and not one thing that God wrote of is going to fail. He's challenging you. So it's interesting we still have the book of Isaiah. We'll still be able to get it out and read when these things come to pass. So, "Seek out the book of the Lord and read it. No one of these shall fail." No one. Now the vultures you'll see, every one has a mate. You'll say, "Isn't that weird?" Every vulture has its mate, just like Isaiah said. Not one is lacking. It's unreal.

And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation ( Isaiah 34:17 ) "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Edom as an example 34:5-17

The prophet now introduced Edom, as a case in point, whose end would be typical of the whole earth (cf. Isaiah 11:14; Isaiah 63:1-6). If Edom alone had been in view, Isaiah probably would have dealt with it as he did the other nations in the oracles earlier in the book (chs. 13-23). But why Edom? The Old Testament consistently treats Edom as the antithesis of Israel (cf. Obad.). Isaac told Esau that he would live in an infertile area (Genesis 27:39-40).

"Recollecting Isaiah 29:22 and the establishing of the family of Jacob, the overthrow of the people of Esau makes the end the exact fulfilment [sic] of what was promised at the beginning (Genesis 25:23)." [Note: Motyer, p. 269. See pp. 268-69 for a concise and illuminating review of biblical references to Edom.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Human leaders will be no more, and only wild animals and weeds will occupy the land (cf. Isaiah 13:21-22; Isaiah 14:23). "Desolation" and "emptiness" (Heb. tohu and bohu, cf. Genesis 1:2) point to chaotic conditions that existed before Creation. Measuring the land indicates that the Lord has a standard by which He evaluates its inhabitants and metes it out to whomever He will (cf. Isaiah 34:17).

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And thorns shall come up in her palaces,.... Where their kings and princes dwelt, and kept their courts, popes and cardinals; here will be the tokens of God's curse, as thorns are, these being the people of his curse, as in Isaiah 34:5:

nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof; alluding to "Bozrah" which signifies a fortress; referring to the towers and fortifications of the city of Rome, and all other fortified cities within its jurisdiction:

and it shall be a habitation of dragons; literally, as it figuratively had been the seat of the old dragon, the devil, and of the beast to whom the dragon gave his power, seat, and authority; and who, though he looked like a lamb, spoke like a dragon, Revelation 12:3:

[and] a court for owls; or, "daughters of the owl"; or "ostriches", as some render it.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      9 And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.   10 It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.   11 But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness.   12 They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing.   13 And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be a habitation of dragons, and a court for owls.   14 The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.   15 There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate.   16 Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.   17 And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.

      This prophecy looks very black, but surely it looks so further than upon Edom and Bozrah. 1. It describes the melancholy changes that are often made by the divine Providence, in countries, cities, palaces, and families. Places that have flourished and been much frequented strangely go to decay. We know not where to find the places where many great towns, celebrated in history, once stood. Fruitful countries, in process of time, are turned into barrenness, and pompous populous cities into ruinous heaps. Old decayed castles look frightful, and their ruins are almost as much dreaded as ever their garrisons were. 2. It describes the destroying judgments which are the effects of God's wrath and the just punishment of those that are enemies to his people, which God will inflict when the year of the redeemed has come, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion. Those that aim to ruin the church can never do that, but will infallibly ruin themselves. 3. It describes the final desolation of this wicked world, which is reserved unto fire at the day of judgment,2 Peter 3:7. The earth itself, when it, and all the works that are therein, shall be burnt up, will (for aught I know) be turned into a hell to all those that set their affections on earthly things. However, this prophecy shows us what will be the lot of the generation of God's curse.

      I. The country shall become like the lake of Sodom, Isaiah 34:9; Isaiah 34:10. The streams thereof, that both watered the land and pleased and refreshed the inhabitants, shall now be turned into pitch, shall be congealed, shall look black, and shall move slowly, or not at all. Their floods to lazy streams of pitch shall turn; so Sir R. Blackmore. The dust thereof shall be turned into brimstone; so combustible has sin made their land that it shall take fire at the first spark of God's wrath struck upon it; and, when it has taken fire, it shall become burning pitch; the fire shall be universal, not a house, or town, on fire, but a whole country; and it shall not be in the power of any to suppress or extinguish it. It shall burn continually, burn perpetually, and shall not be quenched night nor day. The torment of those in hell, or that have a hell within them in their own consciences, is without interruption; the smoke of this fire goes up for ever. As long as there are provoking sinners on earth, from one generation to another, an increase of sinful men, to augment the fierce anger of the Lord (Numbers 32:14), there will be a righteous God in heaven to punish them for it. And as long as a people keep up a succession of sinners God will have a succession of plagues for them; nor will any that fall under the wrath of God be ever able to recover themselves. It will be found, how light soever men make of it, that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. If the land be doomed to destruction, none shall pass through it, but travellers will choose rather to go a great way about than come within the smell of it.

      II. The cities shall become like old decayed houses, which, being deserted by the owners, look very frightful, being commonly possessed by beasts of prey or birds of ill omen. See how dismally the palaces of the enemy look; the description is peculiarly elegant and fine. 1. God shall mark them for ruin and destruction. He shall stretch out upon Bozrah the line of confusion with the stones or plummets of emptiness,Isaiah 34:11; Isaiah 34:11. This intimates the equity of the sentence passed upon it; it is given according to the rules of justice and the exact agreeableness of the execution with the sentence; the destruction is not wrought at random, but by line and level. The confusion and emptiness that shall overspread the face of the whole country shall be like that of the whole earth when it was Tohu and Bohu (the very words here used)--without form and void.Genesis 1:2. Sin will soon turn a paradise into a chaos, and sully the beauty of the whole creation. When there is confusion there will soon be emptiness; but both are appointed by the governor of the world, and in exact proportions. 2. Their great men shall be all cut off, and none of them shall dare to appear (Isaiah 34:12; Isaiah 34:12): They shall call the nobles of the kingdom to take care of the arduous affairs which lie before them, but none shall be there to take this ruin under their hand, and all her princes, having the sad tidings brought them, shall be nothing, shall be at their wits' end, and not be able to stand them in stead, to shelter them from destruction.

      III. Even the houses of state, and those of strength, shall become as wildernesses (Isaiah 34:13; Isaiah 34:13); not only grass shall grow, but thorns shall come up, in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof, and there shall be none to cut them up or tread them down. We sometimes see ruined buildings thus overgrown with rubbish. It intimates that the place shall not only be uninhabited and unfrequented where a full court used to be kept, but that it shall be under the curse of God; for thorns and thistles were the production of the curse, Genesis 3:18.

      IV. They shall become the residence and rendezvous of fearful frightful beasts and birds, which usually frequent such melancholy places, because there they may be undisturbed, and, when they are frightened thither, they help to frighten men thence. This circumstance of the desolation, being apt to strike a horror upon the mind, is much enlarged upon here, Isaiah 34:11; Isaiah 34:11. The cormorant shall possess it, or the pelican, which affects to be solitary (Psalms 102:6); and the bittern, which makes a hideous noise, the owl, a melancholy bird, the raven, a bird of prey, invited by the dead carcases, shall dwell there (with all the ill-boding monsters of the air, Sir R. B.), all the unclean birds, which were not for the service of man, Isaiah 34:13; Isaiah 34:13. It shall be a habitation for dragons, which are poisonous and hurtful.

      That which was a court for princes shall now be a court for owls or ostriches, Isaiah 34:14; Isaiah 34:14. The wild beasts of the desert, the dry and sandy country, shall meet, as it were by appointment, with the wild beasts of the island, the wet marshy country, and shall regale themselves with such a perfect desolation as they shall find there.

      The satyr shall cry to his fellow to go with him to this desert place, or, being there, they shall please themselves that they have found such an agreeable habitation. There shall the screech-owl rest, a night-bird and an ominous one. The great owl shall there make her nest (Isaiah 34:15; Isaiah 34:15) and lay and hatch; the breed of them shall be kept up to provide heirs for this desolate place. The vultures which feast on carcases, shall be gathered there, every one with his mate. Now observe, 1. How the places which men have deserted, and keep at a distance from, are proper receptacles for other animals, which the providence of God takes care of, and will not neglect. 2. Whom those resemble that are morose, unsociable, and unconversable, and affect a melancholy retirement; they are like these solitary creatures that take delight in desolations. 3. What a dismal change sin makes; it turns a fruitful land into barrenness, a frequented city into a wilderness.

      V. Here is an assurance given of the full accomplishment of this prediction, even to the most minute circumstance of it (Isaiah 34:16; Isaiah 34:17): "Seek you out of the book of the Lord and read. When this destruction comes compare the event with the prediction, and you will find it to answer exactly." Note, The book of the prophets is the book of the Lord, and we ought to consult it and converse with it as of divine origin and authority. We must not only read it, but see out of it, search into it, turn first to one text and then to another and compare them together. Abundance of useful knowledge might thus be extracted, by a diligent search, out of the scriptures, which cannot be got by a superficial reading of them. When you have read the prediction out of the book of the Lord then observe, 1. That according to what you have read so you see; not one of these shall fail, either beast or fowl: and, it being foretold that they shall possess it from generation to generation, in order to that, that the species may be propagated, none shall want her mate; these marks of desolation shall be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the land. 2. That God's mouth having commanded this direful muster his Spirit shall gather them, as the creatures by instinct were gathered to Adam to be named and to Noah to be housed. What God's word has appointed his Spirit will effect and bring about, for no word of God shall fall to the ground. The word of God's promise shall in like manner be accomplished by the operations of the Spirit. 3. That there is an exact order and proportion observed in the accomplishment of this threatening: He has cast the lot for these birds and beasts, so that each one shall know his place as readily as if it were marked by line. See the like, Joel 2:7; Joel 2:8, They shall not break their ranks, neither shall one thrust another. The soothsayers among the heathen foretold events by the flight of birds, as if the fate of men depended on them. But here we find that the flight of birds is under the direction of the God of Israel: he has cast the lot for them. 4. That the desolation shall be perpetual: They shall possess it for ever. God's Jerusalem may be laid in ruins; but Jerusalem of old recovered itself out of its ruins, till it gave place to the gospel Jerusalem, which may be brought low, but shall be rebuilt, and shall continue till it give place to the heavenly Jerusalem. But the enemies of the church shall be for ever desolate, shall be punished with an everlasting destruction.