Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Isaiah 54:15

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Isaiah 54:15. Shall fall for thy sake - "Shall come over to thy side."] For יפול yippol, twenty-eight MSS. (eight ancient) have יפל yipal, in its more common form. For the meaning of the word in this place, see Jeremiah 37:13.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Yahweh and Israel reunited (54:1-17)

Israel is likened to the wife of Yahweh. Her exile in Babylon was like a period of divorce when God separated her from him because of her sins. During this time she did not increase or prosper as a nation. She is now to return to God and to her homeland, where she will produce greater increase than in the days before the captivity. As an Arab has to enlarge his tent to accommodate more children, so Israel will have to enlarge its borders to accommodate this increase (54:1-3).
When Israel returns to her husband, she will no longer bear the shame of her separation. In love God will forgive her and take her back to himself (4-6). His discipline of Israel was only temporary, and now he looks forward to a glad reunion and a lasting relationship (7-8). He promises that he will not send the nation into such a shameful exile again (9-10).
The new Israel, built by God himself, will have the beauty of a city built of precious stones (11-12). God will teach his ways to those who dwell in the city, so that justice and righteousness become the most noticeable features of their way of life (13-14). God is the creator of the world and the controller of all human activity in the world. He will make sure that no one who fights against his people will be victorious (15-17).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, behold, I will set thy stones in fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy pinnacles with rubies, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy border of precious stones. And all thy children shall be taught of Jehovah; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression, for thou shalt not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near thee. Behold, they shall gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall because of thee. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the fire of coals, and bringeth forth a weapon for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of Jehovah, and their righteousness which is of me, saith Jehovah."

Isaiah 54:11-12, here describe "the external beauty of the kingdom of God."Homer Hailey, p. 449. Of course, the language is wholly metaphorical, much like the magnificent description of the "New Jerusalem," coming down out of heaven from God in Revelation 21-22. Men, many of them, at least, do not view God's church in such extravagantly magnificent colors; but this is God's view, the correct view. The Church is the most beautiful, sublime, glorious, and magnificent entity upon the planet earth. Her head is in heaven itself; and there's no other organization known among men that is worthy even to be compared with the Church.

Isaiah 54:13 is a glimpse of the inner, spiritual glory and beauty of the Church. "All thy children shall be taught of God"! Membership in the Jewish nation was via natural birth and the circumcision that followed (in the case of males) some eight days later. Thus, unless such individuals were carefully instructed and reared in their faith, they remained as persons who had no knowledge whatever of God. The words here show that a new system was being followed during the reign of Messiah. Just as Jeremiah had foretold:

"For they shall all know me (in the days of the New Covenant), from the least of them to the greatest of them, saith Jehovah: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more" (Jeremiah 35:1-19).

The simple meaning of this is that infants and children before accountability "cannot belong" to the Christian Church, for they do not "know the Lord," the presumptuous acceptance of infant church membership by some churches to the contrary, notwithstanding. One must "know the Lord" before he can become a member.

The balance of these verses speak of the peace, tranquillity, security, safety, and absence of fear among God's people in the Church.

In times past God had brought powerful enemies against his people, but never again. There indeed may arise powerful and determined enemies, but the Lord will not be with them (Isaiah 54:15). God's people shall be established in righteousness (Isaiah 54:14); but that righteousness shall not be of themselves, but of Jehovah (Isaiah 54:17).

A further word about that "righteousness" is in order. The righteousness that redeems and establishes the people of God is genuine, not imputed, or faked; it is the real thing. It is the righteousness achieved and wrought by Jehovah through Christ, the righteousness of Jesus Christ being in fact the only actual righteousness ever known on earth. Now without that righteousness, no one shall ever see God or be saved. How, then does one acquire it? Oh, it is imputed to man upon the basis of faith, some say. Ah no! That would be altogether a phony righteousness. How then, does one possess it? God's way of saving stinking sinners is not by shooting righteousness into stinking sinners, but by requiring that sinners deny themselves, confess Christ, repent and be baptized "into Christ" who 1 Sam. righteous, that is, by transferring sinners "into Christ." Thus, no man who ever lived can be saved except as he is identified with Christ, as Christ, and in Christ; and then, he is not saved as John Smith or Joe Bloke, but "as Christ."

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Behold, they shall surely gather together - The idea in this verse is, that the enemies of the people of God would indeed form alliances and compacts against them, but it would not be under the divine direction, and they would not be able to prevail against the church. The word rendered here ‘gather together’ (גור gûr) means properly ‘to turn aside from the way’; then to sojourn for a time; then to assemble against anyone. It seems here to refer to the gathering together of hostile forces to form an alliance, or to wage war. Great variety, however, has prevailed in the interpretation of the passage, but this seems to be the sense of it. Jerome renders it, ‘Lo, a foreigner shall come who was not with me, the stranger shall hereafter be joined to thee,’ and seems to understand it of the proselytes that should be made. This sense is found expressly in the Septuagint, ‘Lo, proselytes shall come to thee through me, and they shall sojourn with thee, and fly to thee’ The Chaldee renders it, ‘Lo, the captivity of thy people shall be surely gathered unto thee, and in the end the kings of the people which were assembled to afflict thee, O Jerusalem, shall fall in the midst of thee.’ But the above seems to be the correct sense. Alliances would be formed; compacts would be entered into; leagues would be made by the enemies of the people of God, and they would be assembled to destroy the church. This has often been done. Formidable confederations have been entered into for the purpose, and deep-laid plans have been devised to destroy the friends of the Most High. See Psalms 2:2 : ‘The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against his Anointed.’ No small part of history is a record of the combinations and alliances which have been entered into for the purpose of driving the true religion from the world.

But not by me - Not under my direction, or by my command.

Shall fall for thy sake - Hebrew, עליך ‛âlaı̂yk - ‘Shall fall unto thee.’ Lowth, ‘Shall come over to thy side.’ The phrase seems to mean that they should ‘fall to them,’ that is, that they should lay aside their opposition, break up their alliances against the church, and come over to it. In proof of this interpretation, Rosenmuller appeals to the following places: 1 Chronicles 12:19-20; 2 Chronicles 15:9; Jeremiah 21:9; Jeremiah 39:9. The passage, therefore, looks to the future conversion of the enemies of the church to the true faith. It has, doubtless, been partially fulfilled in the conversion of nations that have been leagued against the gospel of the Redeemer. There was a striking fulfillment in the times that succeeded the persecutions of Christians in the Roman empire. After all the power of the empire had been enlisted in ten successive persecutions to destroy the church, the very empire that had thus opposed the church was converted to the Christian faith. In a still more signal manner will this be fulfilled when all the powers of the earth now leagued against the gospel shall be brought under the influences of the true religion.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

15.Behold, he who assembleth shall assemble. The general import is, that, although many rise up for the purpose of overwhelming the Church, yet all their efforts and attacks shall fail; and he appears to promise God’s assistance not only against external foes, but against foes that are domestic and internal. Many “assemble” in the bosom of the Church, as if they wished to join themselves to her, but afterwards carry on internal war. These words are commonly translated, “By gathering he shall gather himself against thee,” and are generally understood to relate to all the enemies of the Church of every kind. That interpretation is most generally approved; nor do I object to it, provided that it be acknowledged to include the fraud, and ambush, and treachery by which the Church is attacked. Yet I have no doubt that here the meaning is the same as in Psalms 2:1, namely, the conspiracies and insurrections of the Gentiles against Christ and the Church of God; for not a single nation only, but various nations rise up against, her.

It is probable, however, that here he expressly joins together domestic foes and those who from without had penetrated even into her bosom; for he says, In thee, Against thee, that is, “They shall attack thee within, in the midst of thee.” In a word, he shows that the Church will not enjoy such peace as not to be attacked by many adversaries. But it may be thought that these statements are contradictory; for he formerly said that she would be far from terror and oppression, and now he says that there shall be conspiracies within her bosom. I reply, the Prophet instantly added this, that believers might not promise to themselves a state of peace in the world, as if they had no annoyance to suffer from wicked men and hypocrites. The defense of the Church against oppression and slander shall be of such a kind as not to preserve her from carrying on uninterrupted war with enemies; for Satan will raise up against her every day new attacks, so that she can never be at rest. These words may therefore be regarded as a correction of the preceding statement, in order that believers may always carry their weapons of war, and may not promise to themselves repose.

Without me. A promise is added, that the Lord will nevertheless preserve them in the midst of dangers. Without God signifies “in vain” or “unsuccessfully;“ for he means that the attacks of wicked men, though they do their utmost ⁽⁷⁴⁾ shall utterly fail. They rush forward with blind fury, but it is the Lord’s hand alone that gives prosperity. He alludes to what was formerly said, (Isaiah 41:25) that the Babylonians should come, under God’s guidance, to destroy Judea. At that time the people were ruined, because they had God for their enemy; but now, because “without God,” that is, without his guidance, the enemies shall attack her, they shall be ashamed and turn back. This is more fully expressed by what immediately follows —

He who shall assemble in thee shall fall against thee. That is, “All that he shall attempt against thee shall fall back on his own head. Though the whole world rise up against thee, it shall be crushed by its own weight.” The phrase, in thee, deserves notice; for when the Lord drives our enemies to a distance, we are confident, but if they come near us, we fall into despair. Therefore he says, “Although they penetrate even into thy bowels, the Lord will destroy them, and will deliver thee.”

(74) “Encore qu’ils facent du pis qu’ils pourrent.” “Though they do the worst that they can.”

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 54

Israel is to be restored as Jehovah's wife, chapter 54.

Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD. Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes ( Isaiah 54:1-2 );

God speaks of how He's just going to enlarge the nation and the people of Israel as He receives them again and places His blessing upon them once more.

For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more ( Isaiah 54:3-4 ).

As we go to the prophecy of Hosea we will find a very classic picture of how God took Israel as His own wife. How that she forsook Him, serving other gods, and how that God finally will redeem her back again to Himself and marry her once more and have that right relationship that He has always desired with her. And so here the same idea, "You'll not remember the reproach of your youth or your widowhood any more."

For thy Maker [God] is your husband; The LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the LORD hath called thee as a woman that is forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when you were refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee ( Isaiah 54:5-7 ).

The glorious grace of God, the glorious mercy of God. The glorious patience of God as He deals with His people, the nation Israel. And as for a moment, and a thousand years is as a day with the Lord, "for a moment I have forsaken you; but with great mercies will I gather thee."

In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be angry with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart, the hills shall be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee. O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make your windows of agates, and the gates of carbuncles, and all your borders of pleasant stones. And all of your children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established: and thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth the instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. But no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD ( Isaiah 54:8-17 ).

"Their righteousness is of Me." Our righteousness is not of ourselves. It's not of our works. It's not by the works of righteousness that we have done but by His grace alone. God declares, "Their righteousness is of Me." Of course, the primary promise here is being made to the Israelite, to the nation of Israel, after He has re-gathered them and claimed them as His people. "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord." So that it goes beyond just Israel. And it comes to us as servants of the Lord; we find our righteousness in Christ. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The rebuilt city 54:11-17

Isaiah changed his illustration from a restored wife to a rebuilt city, but the point remains the same. The contrast between the city of man and the city of God is one that Isaiah developed quite fully (cf. Isaiah 1:26-27; Isaiah 2:2-4; Isaiah 4:2-6; Isaiah 12:1-6; Isaiah 24:10; Isaiah 25:1-9; Isaiah 26:1-6; Isaiah 35:10; Isaiah 47:1; Isaiah 52:1; Isaiah 66:10-14). The people of God can anticipate a glorious future. The prophet was not describing the rebuilding of Jerusalem following the Jews’ return from exile. He was using the image of rebuilding a city to convey the joy and security that lay in the future for all God’s people, particularly Israel.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Whatever trouble might come to them would not come from God as discipline, as in former times. Moreover, God’s people would be able to overcome all their opponents. This indicates that conditions for the redeemed will not be completely placid at this time, as they will be in the eternal state where nothing offensive will assail God’s people. Isaiah rather described conditions during the first part of the renovation of all things, the Millennium. It seems that assault by enemies is not just a theoretical possibility that Isaiah raised to stress the security of believers, but a real possibility for two reasons. First, the prophet spoke of this hostility at some length (Isaiah 54:15-17). Second, he already said enough about the security of the redeemed, so raising the theoretical possibility of opposition is unnecessary and disturbing.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me,.... Not by the Lord, by his command or order to do his will, and execute his pleasure, which sometimes was the case, as in Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, and others; but so it shall not be, when the enemies of Christ and his people gather together against them in the latter day; this will be by the means of three unclean spirits like frogs that will come out of the mouth of the dragon, beast, and false prophet; even spirits of devils, Popish priests, and Jesuits, who will instigate, stir up, and get together the antichristian kings of the earth to the battle of almighty God, Revelation 16:14. Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, interpret them of Gog and Magog:

whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake; because of the love that I bear to thee, they shall not succeed, or do thee any hurt, but shall perish; or, "shall fall to thee" c; so far from doing thee any hurt, they shall come over to thee, and be on thy side; be joined to thee, as the Vulgate Latin version; that is, the remnant that shall escape, and be converted, and give glory to God,

Revelation 11:13 or rather, "shall fall before thee" d, in thy sight; or, as the Targum, in the midst of thee; which remarkably paraphrases the words thus,

"at the end the kings of the nations, which are gathered together to afflict thee, O Jerusalem, shall fall in the midst of thee;''

for the kings of the earth that shall be gathered together against Christ and his church shall fall in battle before them, and their flesh shall become meat for the fowls of the heaven; the beast and false prophet, in company with them, will be taken and cast alive into the lake of fire, and the remnant be slain with the sword of Christ,

Revelation 19:17.

c עליך יפול "ad te cadet", Cocceius. d "Cotam te cadet", Grotius, Gataker.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.   12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.   13 And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.   14 In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.   15 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.   16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.   17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

      Very precious promises are here made to the church in her low condition, that God would not only continue his love to his people under their troubles as before, but that he would restore them to their former prosperity, nay, that he would raise them to greater prosperity than any they had yet enjoyed. In the foregoing chapter we had the humiliation and exaltation of Christ; here we have the humiliation and exaltation of the church; for, if we suffer with him, we shall reign with him. Observe,

      I. The distressed state the church is here reduced to by the providence of God (Isaiah 54:11; Isaiah 54:11): "O thou afflicted, poor, and indigent society, that art tossed with tempests, like a ship driven from her anchors by a storm and hurried into the ocean, where she is ready to be swallowed up by the waves, and in this condition not comforted by any compassionate friend that will sympathize with thee, or suggest to thee any encouraging considerations (Ecclesiastes 4:1), not comforted by any allay to thy trouble, or prospect of deliverance out of it." This was the condition of the Jews in Babylon, and afterwards, for a time, under Antiochus. It is often the condition of Christian churches and of particular believers; without are fightings, within are fears; they are like the disciples in a storm, ready to perish; and where is their faith?

      II. The glorious state the church is here advanced to by the promise of God. God takes notice of the afflicted distressed state of his church, and comforts her, when she is most disconsolate and has no other comforter. Let the people of God, when they are afflicted and tossed, think they hear God speaking comfortably to them by these words, taking notice of their griefs and fears, what afflictions they are under, what distresses they are in, and what comforts their case calls for. When they bemoan themselves, God bemoans them, and speaks to them with pity: O thou afflicted, tossed with tempests, and not comforted; for in all their afflictions he is afflicted. But this is not all; he engages to raise her up out of her affliction, and encourages her with the assurance of the great things he would do for her, both for her prosperity and for the securing of that prosperity to her.

      1. Whereas now she lay in disgrace, God promises that which would be her beauty and honour, which would make her easy to herself and amiable in the eyes of others.

      (1.) This is here promised by a similitude taken from a city, and it is an apt similitude, for the church is the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. Whereas now Jerusalem lay in ruins, a heap of rubbish, it shall be not only rebuilt, but beautified, and appear more splendid than ever; the stones shall be laid not only firm, but fine, laid with fair colours; they shall be glistering stones,1 Chronicles 29:2. The foundations shall be laid or garnished with sapphires, the most precious of the precious stones here mentioned; for Christ (the church's foundation), and the foundation of the apostles and prophets, are precious above any thing else. The windows of this house, city, or temple, shall be made of agates, the gates of carbuncles, and all the borders (the walls that enclose the courts, or the boundaries by which her limits are marked, the mere-stones) shall be of pleasant stones,Isaiah 54:12; Isaiah 54:12. Never was this literally true; but it intimates, [1.] That, God having graciously undertaken to build his church, we may expect that to be done for it, that to be wrought in it, which is very great and uncommon. [2.] That the glory of the New-Testament church shall far exceed that of the Jewish church, not in external pomp and splendour, but in those gifts and graces of the Spirit which are infinitely more valuable, that wisdom which is more precious than rubies (Isaiah 3:15), than the precious onyx and the sapphire, and which the topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal,Job 28:16; Job 28:19. [3.] That the wealth of this world, and those things of it that are accounted most precious, shall be despised by all the true living members of the church, as having no value, no glory, in comparison with that which far excels. That which the children of this world lay up among their treasures, and too often in their hearts, the children of God make pavements of, and put under their feet, the fittest place of it.

      (2.) It is here promised in the particular instances of those things that shall be the beauty and honour of the church, which are knowledge, holiness, and love, the very image of God, in which man was created, renewed, and restored. And these are the sapphires and carbuncles, the precious and pleasant stones, with which the gospel temple shall be enriched and beautified, and these wrought by the power and efficacy of those doctrines which the apostle compares to gold or silver, and precious stones, that are to be built upon the foundation,1 Corinthians 3:12. Then the church is all glorious, [1.] When it is full of the knowledge of God, and that is promised here (Isaiah 54:13; Isaiah 54:13): All thy children shall be taught of the Lord. The church's children, being born of God, shall be taught of God; being his children by adoption, he will take care of their education. It was promised (Isaiah 54:1; Isaiah 54:1) that the church's children should be many; but lest we should think that being many, as sometimes it happens in numerous families, they will be neglected, and not have instruction given them so carefully as if they were but few, God here takes that work into his own hand: They shall all be taught of the Lord; and none teaches like him. First, It is a promise of the means of instruction and those means authorized by a divine institution: They shall all be taught of God, that is, they shall be taught by those whom God shall appoint and whose labours shall be under his direction and blessing. He will ordain the methods of instruction, and by his word and ordinances will diffuse a much greater light than the Old-Testament church had. Care shall be taken for the teaching of the church's children, that knowledge may be transmitted from generation to generation, and that all may be enriched with it, from the least even to the greatest. Secondly, It is a promise of the Spirit of illumination. Our Saviour quotes it with application to gospel grace, and makes it to have its accomplishment in all those that were brought to believe in him (John 6:45): It is written in the prophets, They shall be all taught of God, whence he infers that those, and those only, come to him by faith that have heard and learned of the Father, that are taught by him as the truth is in Jesus,Ephesians 4:21. There shall be a plentiful effusion of the Spirit of grace upon Christians, to teach them all things,John 14:26. [2.] When the members of it live in love and unity among themselves: Great shall be the peace of thy children. Peace may be taken here for all good. As where no knowledge of God is no good can be expected, so those that are taught of God to know him are in a fair way to prosper for both worlds. Great peace have those that know and love God's law,Psalms 119:165. But it is often put for love and unity; and so we may take it. All that are taught of God are taught to love one another (1 Thessalonians 4:9) and that will keep peace among the church's children and prevent their falling out by the way. [3.] When holiness reigns; for that above any thing is the beauty of the church (Isaiah 54:14; Isaiah 54:14): In righteousness shall thou be established. The reformation of manners, the restoration of purity, the due administration of public justice, and the prevailing of honesty and fair dealing among men, are the strength and stability of any church or state. The kingdom of God, set up by the gospel of Christ, is not meat and drink, but this righteousness and peace, holiness and love.

      2. Whereas now she lay in danger, God promises that which would be her protection and security.

      (1.) God engages here that though, in the day of her distress, without were fightings and within were fears, now she shall be safe from both. [1.] There shall be no fears within (Isaiah 54:14; Isaiah 54:14): "Thou shalt be far from oppression. Those that have oppressed thee shall be removed, those that would oppress thee shall be restrained, and therefore thou shalt not fear, but mayest look upon it as a thing at a great distance, that thou art now in no danger of. Thou shalt be far from terror, not only from evil, but from the fear of evil, for it shall not come near thee so as to do thee any hurt or to put thee in any fright." Note, Those are far from terror that are far from oppression; for it is as great a terror as can fall on a people to have the rod of government turned into the serpent of oppression, because against this there is no fence, nor is there any flight from it. [2.] There shall be no fightings without. Though attempts should be made upon them to insult them, to invade their country, or besiege their towns, they should all be in vain, and none of them succeed, Isaiah 54:15; Isaiah 54:15. It is granted, "They shall surely gather together against thee; thou must expect it." The confederate force of hell and earth will be renewing their assaults. As long as there is a devil in hell, and a persecutor out of it, God's people must expect frequent alarms; but, First, God will not own them, will not give them either commission or countenance; they gather together, hand joins in hand, but it is not by me. God gave them no such order as he did to Sennacherib, to take the spoil, and to take the prey,Isaiah 10:6; Isaiah 10:6. And therefore, Secondly, Their attempt will end in their own ruin: "Whosoever shall gather together against thee, be they ever so many and ever so mighty, they shall not only be baffled, but they shall fall for thy sake, or they shall fall before thee, which shall be the just punishment of their enmity to thee." God will make them to fall for the sake of the love he bears to his church and the care he has of it, in answer to the prayers made by his people, and in pursuance of the promises made to them. "They shall fall, that thou mayest stand," Psalms 27:2.

      (2.) That we may with the greatest assurance depend upon God for the safety of his church, we have here, [1.] The power of God over the church's enemies asserted, Isaiah 54:16; Isaiah 54:16. The truth is they have no power but what is given them from above, and he that gave them their power can limit and restrain them. Hitherto they shall go, and no further. First, They cannot carry on their design without arms and weapons of war; and the smith that makes those weapons is God's creature, and he gave him his skill to work in iron and brass (Exodus 31:3; Exodus 31:4) and particularly to make proper instruments for warlike purposes. It is melancholy to think, as if men did not die fast enough of themselves, how ingenious and industrious they are to make instruments of death and to find out ways and means to kill one another. The smith blows the coals in the fire, to make his iron malleable, to soften it first, that it may be hardened into steel, and so he may bring forth an instrument proper for the work of those that seek to destroy. It is the iron age that is the age of war. But God has created the smith, and therefore can tie his hands, so that the project of the enemy shall miscarry (as many a project has done) for want of arms and ammunition. Or the smith that forges the weapons is perhaps put here for the council of war that forms the design, blows the coals of contention, and brings forth the plan of the war; these can do no more than God will let them. Secondly, They cannot carry it on without men, they must have soldiers, and it is God that created the waster to destroy. Military men value themselves upon their great offices and splendid titles, and even the common soldiers call themselves gentlemen; but God calls them wasters made to destroy, for wasting and destruction are their business. They think their own ingenuity, labour, and experience, made them soldiers; but it was God that created them, and gave them strength and spirit for that hazardous employment; and therefore he not only can restrain them, but will serve his own purposes and designs by them. [2.] The promise of God concerning the church's safety solemnly laid down, as the heritage of the servants of the Lord (Isaiah 54:17; Isaiah 54:17), as that which they may depend upon and be confident of, that God will protect them from their adversaries both in camps and courts. First, From their field-adversaries, that think to destroy them by force and violence, and dint of sword: "No weapon that is formed against thee (though ever so artfully formed by the smith that blows the coals, Isaiah 54:16; Isaiah 54:16, though ever so skilfully managed by the waster that seeks to destroy) shall prosper; it shall not prove strong enough to do any harm to the people of God; it shall miss its mark, shall fall out of the hand or perhaps recoil in the face of him that uses it against thee." It is the happiness of the church that no weapons formed against it shall prosper long, and therefore the folly of its enemies will at length be made manifest to all, for they are but preparing instruments of ruin for themselves. Secondly, From their law-adversaries, that think to run them down under colour of right and justice. When the weapons of war do not prosper there are tongues that rise in judgment. Both are included in the gates of hell, that seek to destroy the church; for they had their courts of justice, as well as their magazines and military stores, in their gates. The tongues that rise in judgment against the church are as such as either demand a dominion over it, as if God's children were their lawful captives, pretending an authority to oppress their consciences, or they are such as misrepresent them, and falsely accuse them, and by slanders and calumnies endeavour to make them odious to the people and obnoxious to the government. This the enemies of the Jews did, to incense the kings of Persia against them, Ezra 4:12; Esther 3:8. "But these insulting threatening tongues thou shalt condemn; thou shalt have wherewith to answer their insolent demands, and to put to silence their malicious reflections. Thou shalt do it by well-doing (1 Peter 2:15), by doing that which will make thee manifest in the consciences even of thy adversaries, that thou art not what thou art represented to be. Thou shalt condemn them, that is, God shall condemn them for thee. He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light,Psalms 37:6. Thou shalt condemn them as Noah condemned the old world that reproached him, by building the ark, and so saving his house, in contempt of their contempts." The day is coming when God will reckon with the wicked men for all their hard speeches which they have spoken against him, Jude 1:15.

      The last words refer not only to this promise, but to all that go before: This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord. God's servants are his sons, for he has provided an inheritance for them, rich, sure, and indefeasible. God's promises are their heritage for ever (Psalms 119:111); and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord. God will clear up the righteousness of their cause before men. It is with him, for he knows it; it is with him, for he will plead it. Or their reward for their righteousness, and for all that which they have suffered unrighteously, is of God, that God who judges in the earth, and with whom verily there is a reward for the righteous. Or their righteousness itself, all that in them which is good and right, is of God, who works it in them; it is of Christ who is made righteousness to them. In those for whom God designs a heritage hereafter he will work righteousness now.