Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Isaiah 59:15

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Isaiah 59:15. And the Lord saw it - "And JEHOVAH saw it -----"] This third line of the stanza appears manifestly to me to be imperfect by the loss of a phrase. The reader will perhaps more perfectly conceive my idea of the matter if I endeavour to supply the supposed defect, I imagine it might have stood originally in this manner: -

לו ויחר יהוה וירא

lo veyachar Yehovah vaiyar

משפט אין כי בעיניו וירע

mishpat ein ki beeyinaiv veyera

"And JEHOVAH saw it, and he was wroth;

And it displeased him, that there was no judgment."

We have had already many examples of mistakes of omission; this, if it be such, is very ancient, being prior to all the versions. - L.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Society incapable of reform (59:1-21)

Ungodly society is heading for destruction. The reason for this is not that God is powerless to save people, but that people’s sins have cut them off from God, the only one who can save them. They have filled the land with violence, lies and treachery (59:1-3).
Because of the corruption of the courts, there is no justice in society (4). Wickedness multiplies as evil people spread their poison and trap the innocent in their plots. They try to cover their sin with a show of respectability, but they are not successful (5-6). Because their thoughts are evil, their actions also are evil. Always devious, they are a constant source of trouble to others. They know nothing of such basic virtues as kindness, honesty and justice (7-8).
The prophet then joins with the people in confessing their sin. They would like to see an end to oppression and injustice, but they hope in vain. They live in a society of moral darkness that they themselves have created (9-11). They have turned away from following God and have developed a way of life where honesty and truth are ignored (12-13). Injustice and corruption are everywhere, from the highest law courts down to the market places of the common people. The person who tries to be honest suffers persecution from those who find it more convenient to cooperate with the corrupt system. God sees all this and it displeases him (14-15).
God sees that the human race cannot reform itself. What is needed is the intervention of God. In purity and justice he acts against the sinners, with the result that people worldwide acknowledge his lordship (16-19). Those who repent of their sins enter a new relationship with him. They become his true people and enjoy the spiritual blessings of his covenant with them (20-21).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"And Jehovah saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his own arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it upheld him. And he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a mantle. According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, wrath to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompense. So shall they fear the name of Jehovah from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come as a rushing stream, which the breath of Jehovah driveth. And a Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith Jehovah. And as for me, this is my covenant with them, saith Jehovah: my Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith Jehovah, from henceforth and forever."

Despite the fact of this description of Jewish wickedness having a legitimate application to ages other than that of the Messiah:

"It quite appropriately describes the moral condition of the world that laid the foundation for the necessity of Divine intervention by the Messiah. Indeed, this final paragraph of the chapter undoubtedly refers to Him. No one can attentively read this passage and doubt it. This is a most beautiful description of the Redeemer, and of the effects of his coming."Albert Barnes' Commentary, Vol. II, p. 350.

Jehovah's concern at the terrible, near hopeless, condition of mankind; and the statement in Isaiah 59:16 that he "wondered that there was no intercessor" falls short of expressing the fullness of God's concern. The word should be rendered, "He was appalled."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 621. The utter hopelessness of mankind had reached such a state that it even appalled God.

"He put on righteousness as a breastplate" God does not need, nor does He resort to physical armor. He would need such things like He needs a hole in His head! People who talk about the "Battle of Armageddon" should read their Bibles. There will be no "battle," that word being in the commentaries, but not in the Biblical description of Armageddon!

The apostle Paul evidently made this verse the foundation of his describing the panoply of the Christian's armor in Ephesians 6:13-19.

As Rawlinson noted, "The Isaianic anthropomorphism is far less gross than that of Homer, in whose writings the pagan gods actually put on armor, and took up sword and shield."Footnote is not available As Jamieson noted, the Christian's armor is like that of God's, except that, "We do not possess any `garments of vengeance, or cloak of zeal.' Vengeance belongs to God (Romans 12:19)."Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary, p. 497.

As frequently observed in all the prophets, the first advent and the second advent of Christ are often telescoped together in the vision of the sacred writers, mentioning characteristics of both in the single reference. Here, the vengeance upon God's enemies is an ear-mark of the last advent, not the first; but, in the sense that God's word is the judge of all men; and since Christ brought God's Word in the first advent, it does have an application.

"A Redeemer will come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob" No passage in the Bible could more clearly distinguish the impenitent and disobedient transgressors of the hardened, deluded, and blinded Israel, and mark their exclusion from the blessings of the New Covenant, than does this verse. True, the Lord would come to Zion, but not to all the Jewish nation, only "unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob."

As Archer pointed out:

"Redeemer here is [~go'el], `kinsman-redeemer,' which involves a blood relationship (into which it would have been impossible for God to enter, except through the Incarnation of Christ)."Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 650.

Note the passages here which apply to Jesus Christ: (1) he is the one who is the covenant (Isaiah 35 prophesies the Christ who is the New Covenant, but the word `covenant' is not used); (2) the Spirit of God is upon him (Matthew 3:16 f); (3) God put his words in Jesus' mouth (John 12:49-50); (4) Heaven and earth shall pass away but Jesus' words shall not pass away (1 Peter 1:24-25). These very things have already been stated many times in Isaiah, as in Isaiah 55:3; Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 49:8; Isaiah 54:10; Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 61:1. The tremendous meaning here is that:

"There will always be a seed (a remnant) holding faithfully to God's Word, passing it on from one generation to the next. This promise has been fulfilled in the Christ who received his words from the Father, in the gospel, and in the true church of Christ."Homer Hailey, p. 485.

Cheyne correctly identified Isaiah 59:21 as, "A special word of promise to the True Israel,"T. K. Cheyne's Commentary, Vol. II, p. 81. thus making that necessary distinction so vital in studying this prophecy, namely, that of always determining which Israel is meant.

Before leaving this chapter, it should be noted that Isaiah is here going forward with exactly what he promised in Isaiah 28:10; Isaiah 28:13, that is, "precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little, here a little and there a little." All of these themes, all of them, had previously been mentioned at least half a dozen times. This is true of practically everything in these final seventeen chapters; and this identifies them, absolutely, as the writings of Isaiah. This chapter affords a good example of what we mean. See the next paragraph.

The hardening of Israel was foretold in Isaiah 6:6-12; God's righteousness (his breastplate) appears in Isaiah 11:5; Isaiah 42:6, etc.; sins hide God's face from the wicked as in Isaiah 8:17; the Redeemer here is mentioned in Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:7, etc.; the new covenant is gloriously prophesied in Isaiah 35. The deficiency of the spider web as a covering and the inability of the people to cover them with their works (Isaiah 59:6) is an echo of Isaiah 28:20 where the bed was too short and the blanket too narrow!

The application of this chapter to the period of Jesus' personal ministry is required by the references to the Repairer and the Restorer (Isaiah 58:12) and that of "The Redeemer" (Isaiah 59:20), bracketing, as it were, the whole chapter and identifying it with the times of Christ.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Yea, truth faileth - That is, it is not to be found, it is missing. The word used here (from עדר ‛âdar) means “to be left, to remain” 2 Samuel 17:22; then “to be missing or lacking” 1 Samuel 30:19; Isaiah 40:26. Here it means that truth had no existence there.

And he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey - Margin, ‘Is accounted mad.’ Noyes renders this, ‘And he that departeth from evil is plundered.’ Grotius renders it, ‘The innocent man lies open to injury from all.’ The Septuagint, ‘They took away the mind from understanding;’ or, ‘They substituted opinion in the place of knowledge.’ (Thompson’s Translation.) The phrase, ‘He that departeth from evil,’ means evidently a man who did not, and would not, fall in with the prevailing iniquitous practices, but who maintained a life of honesty and piety. It was one of the evils of the times that such a man would be harassed, plundered, ill-treated. The word rendered ‘maketh himself a prey’ (משׁתולל mish^etôlēl from שׁלל shâlal), is a word usually signifying to strip off, to plunder, to spoil. Some have supposed that the word means to make foolish, or to account mad, in Job 12:17, Job 12:19. Thus, in the passage before us, the Septuagint understood the word, and this sense of the word our translators have placed in the margin. But there is no reason for departing here from the usual signification of the word as denoting to plunder, to spoil; and the idea is, that the people of honesty and piety were subject to the rapacity of the avaricious, and the oppression of the mighty. They regarded them as lawful prey, and took every advantage in stripping them of their property, and reducing them to want. This completes the statement of the crimes of the nation, and the existence of such deeds of violence and iniquity constituted the basis on which God was led to interpose and effect deliverance. Such a state of crime and consequent suffering demanded the divine interposition; and when Yahweh saw it, he was led to provide a way for deliverance and reform.

The passage before us had a primary reference to the prevalence of iniquity in the Jewish nation. But it is language also that will quite as appropriately describe the moral condition of the world as laying the foundation for the necessity of the divine interposition by the Messiah. Indeed, the following verses undoubtedly refer to him. No one, it is believed, can attentively read the passage, and doubt this. The mind of the prophet is fixed upon the depravity of the Jewish nation. The hands, the tongue, the eyes, the feet, the fingers, were all polluted. The whole nation was sunk in moral corruption; and this was but a partial description of what was occurring everywhere on the earth. In such a state of things in the Jewish nation, and in the whole world, the question could not but arise, whether no deliverer could be found. Was there no way of pardon; no way by which deserved and impending wrath could be diverted? From this melancholy view, therefore, the prophet turns to him who was to be the Great Deliverer, and the remainder of the chapter is occupied with a most beautiful description of the Redeemer, and of the effect of his coming. The sentiment of the whole passage is, “that the deep and extended depravity of man was the foundation of the necessity of the divine interposition in securing salvation, and that in view of the guilt of people, God provided one who was a Glorious Deliverer, and who was to come to Zion as the Redeemer.”

And the Lord saw it - He saw there was no righteousness; no light; no love; no truth. All was violence and oppression: all was darkness and gloom.

And it displeased him - Margin, ‘Was evil in his eyes.’ So Jerome, ‘It appeared evil in his eyes.’ Septuagint, Καὶ οὐκ ἤρεσεν αὐτῷ Kai ouk ēresen autō - ‘And it did not please him.’ The Hebrew, וירע vayēra‛ means, literally, ‘It was evil in his eyes.’ That is, it was painful or displeasing to him. The existence of so much sin and darkness was contrary to the benevolent feelings of his heart.

That there was no judgment - No righteousness; no equity; and that iniquity and oppression abounded.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

15.Truth faileth. Hence it clearly appears that Isaiah, in the preceding verse, did not speak of punishments; for, without interrupting the stream of his discourse, he proceeds to show that the people ought not to complain of the severity of chastisements, since they have so grievously offended and provoked God. He therefore confirms what he formerly said, that “truth hath fallen, that there is no place for equity;” and he enlarges this statement the more, by adding that he who hath withdrawn from evil hath become a prey. ⁽¹⁴³⁾ Almost all the Jewish expositors, reading the two clauses consecutively, explain them thus: — “Truth hath failed, and, by departing from evil, hath been made a prey.” Why they adopt that meaning, I do not see.

Jerome’s exposition, which I follow, is much more correct; and appropriate; and a similar mode of expression is frequently employed in the Scriptures. Job is said to have been

“an upright and perfect man, fearing
God, and departing from evil.” (Job 1:1)

Solomon also says,

“The fool is confident, but the righteous man looketh well to himself, and departeth from evil.” (Proverbs 14:16)

The Prophet means that all uprightness was so greatly abhorred, that the true worshippers of God, if any remained, were not permitted to be safe. As if he had said, “Whoever wishes to live among men must vie with them in wickedness,” ⁽¹⁴⁴⁾ according to the common proverb, “Among wolves we must howl; but he who wishes to live innocently shall be torn in pieces, as a sheep is torn by wolves.” Finally, he describes the utmost pitch of wickedness; for he shows that “truth hath failed,” so that no good man is allowed to remain among them; because every one that abstains front acts of injustice “lays himself open to be a prey.”

And Jehovah saw. This relates to the consolation of the people; for he declares that, although they have grievously offended, so that it may appear as if there were no room for pardon, still the Lord will have regard to his people, and, although he has inflicted very severe chastisements, will at length remember his covenant, so as to bring incredible relief by healing their wounds. He speaks here of a future period, and promises that one day, after calamities so numerous and diversified, the Lord will aid the people that are left; for the Jews would have lost heart, and would have been altogether discouraged, if the Lord had not brought that consolation.

Thus men commonly rush forward, and throw themselves headlong into opposite vices; for, when they are reproved, they either grow obstinate and harden themselves, or are terrified and fall into despair. We must therefore observe carefully this order which the Prophet followed. First, it was necessary to reprove the Jews, that, being affected and laid low by repentance, they might cease to find fault with God; and, secondly, a mitigation of punishments, accompanied by salvation, is promised, that they might not be discouraged, but expect assistance from the Lord, who is unwilling that his Church should perish, and punishes his people for a time, in order that he may not suffer them to be ruined and destroyed.

Yet if any one prefer to limit this dislike or displeasure of God to the “judgment,” because he had good reason for abhorring a wicked people, I have no objection; as if he had said that God saw nothing in that people but what was ground of hatred. Hence it follows, that there was no other motive that prompted him to yield assistance, than because their affairs were utterly desperate.

(143) “If you render the Hebrew words thus, ‘Withdrawing from evil, he maketh himself a prey,’ that is, ‘Whosoever shuns vices, exposes himself as a prey to the wicked,’ you will have a meaning which leaves nothing to desire.” ­ Rosenmuller.

(144) “Doit neeessairement estre aussi mechant qu’eux.” “Must unavoidably be as wicked as they are.”

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 59

Now in fifty-nine:

Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither is his ear heavy, that it cannot hear ( Isaiah 59:1 ):

"Lord, why aren't You hearing us when we fast? Why aren't You acknowledging it? Why aren't You recognizing it?" Now the Lord's saying, "Hey, look, there's nothing. I don't have any hearing problem. The Lord's hand is not short that He cannot save; neither is His ear heavy that He cannot hear." If you're not getting answers to prayer, it isn't really God's fault. The fault lies within us. And the Lord declares, "My hand is not short, that I cannot save."

But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear ( Isaiah 59:2 ).

David said, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me when I pray" ( Psalms 66:18 ). God says, "Look, My hand is not short, My ear isn't heavy that I cannot save, I cannot hear." But your sins have broken the connection between you and God. Sin can hinder your prayers. For sin breaks your relationship with God. And at that point, prayer is totally meaningless. In fact, it's perhaps a little worse. Prayer is deceitful, because though you know that you are wrong and you are doing wrong, so many times a person passes it off by saying, "Well, I know that I am not living as I should but I still pray. I know that this is wrong. I know that this is sin and all but I still pray." But wait a minute. Your prayers are totally meaningless. You're being deceived by them because God says that He will not hear. Your sin has separated between you and God. So the fact that you still pray is totally meaningless, because you've allowed this sin in your life. And thus you are deceived by your prayer life itself thinking, "Well, I'm not too bad, I still pray."

God declares,

For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perverseness ( Isaiah 59:3 ).

So one of the manners of praying was often to lift up their hands to the Lord. But God says, "You're lifting up your hands to Me but they're full of blood, full of iniquity." In that sense, prayer is an insult to God. If I hold up hands before God that are full of blood, full of iniquity, that's insulting God. Surely God will not honor nor hear.

Now God said,

None is calling for justice, no one is pleading for truth: they are trusting in vanity, they are speaking lies; they conceive mischief, and they bring forth iniquity. They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and they weave the spider's web: and he that eats the eggs will die, and those eggs which are crushed will break out into a viper. Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace. Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold there is obscurity; we wait for brightness, but we walk in darkness. We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men. We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us. For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them; In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. And judgment is turned away backward, and justice stands afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departs from evil makes himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment ( Isaiah 59:4-15 ).

The tragic condition of man and it is expressed, of course, in an extremely poetic way. And this portion of Isaiah is actually Hebrew poetry. And we see the thoughts are expressed in very picturesque ways: crooked paths, groping like a blind man, like a person with no eyes, stumbling at noontime as though it were midnight, desolate as the grave, men who dwell in the grave or in places as dead men. And God looking on the whole thing, seeing the whole perversity of man, seeing the greed of man. Ruling his heart as no one is really seeking to be fair or honest or just. No one calling for justice. Everybody getting by with whatever they can.

And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor ( Isaiah 59:16 ):

No one to cry out against it. People just allowing it to go on.

therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon his head ( Isaiah 59:16-17 );

It reminds you of Ephesians chapter 6 where we are told to put on the whole armor of God, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation.

and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak. According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; and to the coasts he will pay to recompense ( Isaiah 59:17-18 ).

In Hebrews it says that "it is a fearful thing to fall in the hands of a living God" ( Hebrews 10:31 ). For we know Him who has declared, "Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith the Lord" ( Romans 12:19 ). And God here speaks of this day of judgment.

So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood ( Isaiah 59:19 ),

And He has spoken of that which has taken place here. The enemy is just come in like a flood. There doesn't seem to be any intercessor, anyone who is really seeking for righteousness, anyone who is really seeking for the right thing. No intercessor, and God wonders at it. And the enemy is just come in like a flood. If a person seeks to live righteous, he is sort of isolated. "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, then the Spirit," because there is no intercessor, there is no man to do it.

the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him ( Isaiah 59:19 ).

God intervenes and begins to work.

And the Redeemer [Jesus Christ] shall come to Zion [to Jerusalem], and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever ( Isaiah 59:20-21 ).

For God in spite of all things is yet going to show forth His mercy and His grace upon these people. Paul the apostle said, "that blindness is happened to Israel in part until the fullness of the Gentiles come in. But then all of Israel shall be saved, as saith the scripture, for the Lord shall come to Zion" ( Romans 11:25-26 ). And so Paul is making a reference really to this particular prophecy of Isaiah of that glorious day when Jesus comes and establishes His kingdom. And from the covenant of God with the people that shall be a perpetual covenant forever. And so the deliverance of Zion, the glorious day of the Lord. Paul said the cutting off brought salvation to the Gentiles. What do you think the grafting of them back in is going to be? If the cutting off of Israel brought such glory to the world, how much more when God restores them and restores His work with these people will the glory of the Lord fill the earth. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

What Israel did 59:1-15a

As mentioned above, this second segment of the section dealing with the relationship of righteousness and ritual (chs. 58-59) deals with the inability of God’s redeemed people to produce righteous behavior in their own strength. Chapter 57 dealt with their inability to break with idolatry in their own strength.

"In chapter 57 he [Isaiah] condemned adulterous paganism, in chapter 58 hypocritical fasting, while here it is chiefly injustice that calls forth his condemnation. Each of these chapters speaks about prayer. In chapter 57 it was not answered because it was not addressed to the true God (Isaiah 57:13); in chapter 58 because the petitioners are hypocrites (Isaiah 58:4); while here in Isaiah 59:1-2, it is because of their sins and particularly, as later verses indicate, their injustice." [Note: Grogan, p. 325.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Israel’s confession 59:9-15a

Isaiah, speaking for the sinful Israelites in captivity (cf. Isaiah 6:5), first acknowledged the consequences of their behavior (Isaiah 59:9-11) and then confessed their guilt (Isaiah 59:12-15 a).

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Though Israel was blind (Isaiah 59:10), the Lord saw. He saw the true state of His people, as He sees everything. He saw that there was no justice in Israel or for Israel (Isaiah 59:9-15 a).

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

What God would do 59:15b-21

This is the third and last pericope, parallel to Isaiah 57:14-21, which announces that God would deliver His people from the sin that plagued them as redeemed people (cf. Isaiah 6:5). The section also closes the part of Isaiah that deals with the recognition of human inability (chs. 56-59).

"This is the ultimate development of the Divine Warrior motif in the Bible: God comes to destroy the final enemy of what he has created: not the monster Chaos, but the monster Sin." [Note: Oswalt, The Book . . . 40-66, p. 527.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Yea, truth faileth,.... Or, "is deprived" f; of its life and being; it not only falls in the street, and there lies, without any to show regard unto it; but it fails; it seems as if it had given up the ghost and expired; so very prevalent will error be, before light and truth spring up again and be victorious, as they will:

and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey; he that does not give in to the prevailing vices of the age in which he lives, now become fashionable, but abstains from them, and departs from doctrinal as well as practical evils; from all false doctrines, and from all superstitious modes of worship; becomes a prey to others; a reproach and a laughing stock to them; they scoff at him, and deride him for his preciseness in religion; for his enthusiastic and irrational notions in doctrine; and for his stiffness in matters of worship: or, "he makes himself reckoned a madman" g; as some render it; and this is a common notion with profane men, and loose professors, to reckon such as madmen that are upright in doctrine, worship, and conversation; see Acts 26:24:

and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment; he took notice of all this, and resented it, though in a professing people, that there was no judgment or discretion in matters of doctrine and worship; no order or discipline observed; no justice done in civil courts, or in the church of God; no reformation in church or state.

f נעדרת "privata"; so העדר "privatio", often with the Rubbins. g משתולל "facit ut insanus habeatur", Junius Tremellius "habitus est pro insano", Vitringa; so Abendana, "he that fears God, and departs from evil", יחשבוהו לשוטה, "they reckon him a fool or a madman."

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      9 Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness.   10 We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men.   11 We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us.   12 For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them;   13 In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.   14 And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.   15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.

      The scope of this paragraph is the same with that of the last, to show that sin is the great mischief-maker; as it is that which keeps good things from us, so it is that which brings evil things upon us. But as there it is spoken by the prophet, in God's name, to the people, for their conviction and humiliation, and that God might be justified when he speaks and clear when he judges, so here it seems to be spoken by the people to God, as an acknowledgment of that which was there told them and an expression of their humble submission and subscription to the justice and equity of God's proceedings against them. Their uncircumcised hearts here seem to be humbled in some measure, and they are brought to confess (the confession is at least extorted from them), that God had justly walked contrary to them, because they had walked contrary to him.

      I. They acknowledge that God had contended with them and had walked contrary to them. Their case was very deplorable, Isaiah 59:9-11; Isaiah 59:9-11. 1. They were in distress, trampled upon and oppressed by their enemies, unjustly dealt with, and ruled with rigour; and God did not appear for them, to plead their just and injured cause: "Judgment is far from us, neither does justice overtake us,Isaiah 59:9; Isaiah 59:9. Though, as to our persecutors, we are sure that we have right on our side; and they are the wrong-doers, yet we are not relieved, we are not righted. We have not done justice to one another, and therefore God suffers our enemies to deal thus unjustly with us, and we are as far as ever from being restored to our right and recovering our property again. Oppression is near us, and judgment is far from us. Our enemies are far from giving our case its due consideration, but still hurry us on with the violence of their oppressions, and justice does not overtake us, to rescue us out of their hands." 2. Herein their expectations were sadly disappointed, which made their case the more sad: "We wait for light as those that wait for the morning, but behold obscurity; we cannot discern the least dawning of the day of our deliverance. We look for judgment, but there is none (Isaiah 59:11; Isaiah 59:11); neither God nor man appears for our succour; we look for salvation, because God (we think) has promised it, and we have prayed for it with fasting; we look for it as for brightness, but it is far off from us, as far off as ever for aught we can perceive, and still we walk in darkness; and the higher our expectations have been raised the sorer is the disappointment." 3. They were quite at a loss what to do to help themselves and were at their wits' end (Isaiah 59:10; Isaiah 59:10): "We grope for the wall like the blind; we see no way open for our relief, nor know which way to expect it, or what to do in order to it." If we shut our eyes against the light of divine truth, it is just with God to hide from our eyes the things that belong to our peace; and, if we use not our eyes as we should, it is just with him to let us be as if we had no eyes. Those that will not see their duty shall not see their interest. Those whom God has given up to a judicial blindness are strangely infatuated; they stumble at noon-day as in the night; they see not either those dangers, or those advantages, which all about them see. Quos Deus vult perdere, eos dementat--God infatuates those whom he means to destroy. Those that love darkness rather than light shall have their doom accordingly. 4. They sunk into despair and were quite overwhelmed with grief, the marks of which appeared in every man's countenance; they grew melancholy upon it, shunned conversation, and affected solitude: We are in desolate places as dead men. The state of the Jews in Babylon is represented by dead and dry bones (Ezekiel 37:12) and the explanation of the comparison there (Isaiah 59:11; Isaiah 59:11) explains this text: Our hope is lost; we are cut off for our parts. In this despair the sorrow and anguish of some were loud and noisy: We roar like bears; the sorrow of others was silent, and preyed more upon their spirits: "We mourn sore like doves, like doves of the valleys; we mourn both for our iniquities (Ezekiel 7:16) and for our calamities." Thus they owned that the hand of the Lord had gone out against them.

      II. They acknowledge that they had provoked God thus to contend with them, that he had done right, for they had done wickedly, Isaiah 59:12-15; Isaiah 59:12-15. 1. They owned that they had sinned, and that to this day they were in a great trespass, as Ezra speaks (Ezra 10:10): "Our transgressions are with us; the guilt of them is upon us, the power of them prevails among us, we are not yet reformed, nor have we parted with our sins, though they have done so much mischief. Nay, our transgressions are multiplied; they are more numerous and more heinous than they have been formerly. Look which way we will, we cannot look off them; all places, all orders and degrees of men, are infected. The sense of our transgression is with us, as David said, My sin is ever before me; it is too plain to be denied or concealed, too bad to be excused or palliated. God is a witness to them: They are multiplied before thee, in thy sight, under thy eye. We are witnesses against ourselves: As for our iniquities, we know them, though we may have foolishly endeavoured to cover them. Nay, they themselves are witnesses: Our sins stare us in the face and testify against us, so many have they been and so deeply aggravated." 2. They owned the great evil and malignity of sin, of their sin; it is transgressing and lying against the Lord,Isaiah 59:13; Isaiah 59:13. The sins of those that profess themselves God's people, and bear his name, are upon this account worse than the sins of others, that in transgressing they lie against the Lord, they falsely accuse him, they misrepresent and belie him, as if he had dealt hardly and unfairly with them; or they perfidiously break covenant with him and falsify their most sacred and solemn engagements to him, which is lying against him: it is departing away from our God, to whom we are bound as our God and to whom we ought to cleave with purpose of heart; from him we have departed, as the rebellious subject from his allegiance to his rightful prince, and the adulterous wife from the guide of her youth and the covenant of her God. 3. They owned that there was a general decay of moral honesty; and it is not strange that those who were false to their God were unfaithful to one another. They spoke oppression, declared openly for that, though it was a revolt from their God and a revolt from the truth, by the sacred bonds of which we should always be tied and held fast. They conceived and uttered words of falsehood. Many ill thing is conceived in the mind, yet is prudently stifled there, and not suffered to go any further; but these sinners were so impudent, so daring, that whatever wickedness they conceived, they gave it an imprimatur--a sanction, and made no difficulty of publishing it. To think an ill thing is bad, but to say it is much worse. Many a word of falsehood is uttered in haste, for want of consideration; but these were conceived and uttered, were uttered--deliberately and of malice prepense. They were words of falsehood, and yet they are said to be uttered from the heart, because, though they differed from the real sentiments of the heart and therefore were words of falsehood, yet they agreed with the malice and wickedness of the heart, and were the natural language of that; it was a double heart,Psalms 12:2. Those who by the grace of God kept themselves free from these enormous crimes yet put themselves into the confession of sin, because members of that nation which was generally thus corrupted. 4. They owned that that was not done which might have been done to reform the land and to amend what was amiss, Isaiah 59:14; Isaiah 59:14. "Judgment, that should go forward, and bear down the opposition that is made to it, that should run in its course like a river, like a mighty stream, is turned away backward, a contrary course. The administration of justice has become but a cover to the greatest injustice. Judgment, that should check the proceedings of fraud and violence, is driven back, and so they go on triumphantly. Justice stands afar off, even from our courts of judicature, which are so crowded with the patrons of oppression that equity cannot enter, cannot have admission into the court, cannot be heard, or at least will not be heeded. Equity enters not into the unrighteous decrees which they decree, Isaiah 10:1; Isaiah 10:1. Truth is fallen in the street, and there she may lie to be trampled upon by every foot of pride, and she has never a friend that will lend a hand to help her up; yea, truth fails in common conversation, and in dealings between man and man, so that one knows not whom to believe nor whom to trust." 5. They owned that there was a prevailing enmity in men's minds to those that were good: He that does evil goes unpunished, but he that departs from evil makes himself a prey to those beasts of prey that were before described. It is crime enough with them for a man not to do as they do, and they treat him as an enemy who will not partake with them in their wickedness. He that departs from evil is accounted mad; so the margin reads. Sober singularity is branded as folly, and he is thought next door to a madman who swims against the stream that runs so strongly. 6. They owned that all this could not but be very displeasing to the God of heaven. The evil was done in his sight. They knew very well, though they were not willing to acknowledge it, that the Lord saw it; though it was done secretly, and gilded over with specious pretences, yet it could not be concealed from his all-seeing eye. All the wickedness that is in the world is naked and open before the eyes of God; and, as he is of quicker eyes than not to see iniquity, so he is of purer eyes than to behold it with the least approbation or allowance. He saw it, and it displeased him, though it was among his own professing people that he saw it. It was evil in his eyes; he saw the sinfulness of all this sin, and that which was most offensive to him was that there was no judgment, no reformation; had he seen any signs of repentance, though the sin displeased him, he would soon have been reconciled to the sinners upon their returning from their evil way. Then the sin of a nation becomes national, and brings public judgments, when it is not restrained by public justice.