1 The word that Isaiah, the sonne of Amoz, sawe concerning Iudah and Ierusalem.
2 And it shall come to passe in the last dayes, that the mountaine of the Lords house shall be established in the top of the mountaines, and shall be exalted aboue the hilles; and all nations shall flow vnto it.
3 And many people shall goe & say; Come yee and let vs go vp to the mountaine of the Lord, to the house of the God of Iacob, and he will teach vs of his wayes, and we will walke in his pathes: for out of Zion shall goe forth the lawe, and the word of the Lord from Ierusalem.
4 And hee shall iudge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beate their swords into plow-shares, and their speares into pruning hookes: nation shall not lift vp sword against nation, neither shall they learne warre any more.
5 O house of Iacob, come yee, and let vs walke in the light of the Lord.
6 ¶ Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Iacob; because they be replenished from the East, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselues in the children of strangers.
7 Their land also is full of siluer and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures: their land is also full of horses; neither is there any end of their charets.
8 Their land also is full of idoles: they worship the worke of their owne hands, that which their owne fingers haue made.
9 And the meane man boweth downe, and the great man humbleth himselfe; therefore forgiue them not.
10 ¶ Enter into the rocke, and hide thee in the dust, for feare of the Lord, and for the glory of his Maiestie.
11 The loftie lookes of man shalbe humbled, and the hautines of men shalbe bowed downe: and the Lord alone shalbe exalted in that day.
12 For the day of the Lord of hostes shall bee vpon euery one that is proud and loftie, and vpon euery one that is lifted vp, and he shalbe brought low;
13 And vpon all the Cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted vp; and vpon all the okes of Bashan,
14 And vpon all the high mountaines, and vpon all the hilles that are lifted vp,
15 And vpon euery high tower, and vpon euery fenced wall,
16 And vpon all the ships of Tarshish, and vpon all pleasant pictures.
17 And the loftinesse of man shall be bowed downe, and the hautinesse of men shalbe made low: and the Lord alone shalbe exalted in that day.
18 And the idoles hee shall vtterly abolish.
19 And they shall goe into the holes of the rocks, and into the caues of the earth for feare of the Lord, and for the glory of his Maiestie; when hee ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
20 In that day a man shall cast his idoles of siluer, and his idoles of golde which they made each one for himselfe to worship, to the moules and to the battes:
21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rockes, for feare of the Lord, and for the glorie of his Maiestie; when hee ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
22 Cease ye from man whose breath is in his nostrels: for wherein is hee to be accounted of?
The conversion of the Gentiles, Description of the sinfulness of Israel. (1-9) The awful punishment of unbelievers. (10-22)1-9 The calling of the Gentiles, the spread of the gospel, and that far more extensive preaching of it yet to come, are foretold. Let Christians strengthen one another, and support one another. It is God who teaches his people, by his word and Spirit. Christ promotes peace, as well as holiness. If all men were real Christians, there could be no war; but nothing answering to these expressions has yet taken place on the earth. Whatever others do, let us walk in the light of this peace. Let us remember that when true religion flourishes, men delight in going up to the house of the Lord, and in urging others to accompany them. Those are in danger who please themselves with strangers to God; for we soon learn to follow the ways of persons whose company we keep. It is not having silver and gold, horses and chariots, that displeases God, but depending upon them, as if we could not be safe, and easy, and happy without them, and could not but be so with them. Sin is a disgrace to the poorest and the lowest. And though lands called Christian are not full of idols, in the literal sense, are they not full of idolized riches? and are not men so busy about their gains and indulgences, that the Lord, his truths, and precepts, are forgotten or despised?
10-22 The taking of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans seems first meant here, when idolatry among the Jews was done away; but our thoughts are led forward to the destruction of all the enemies of Christ. It is folly for those who are pursued by the wrath of God, to think to hide or shelter themselves from it. The shaking of the earth will be terrible to those who set their affections on things of the earth. Men's haughtiness will be brought down, either by the grace of God convincing them of the evil of pride, or by the providence of God depriving them of all the things they were proud of. The day of the Lord shall be upon those things in which they put their confidence. Those who will not be reasoned out of their sins, sooner or later shall be frightened out of them. Covetous men make money their god; but the time will come when they will feel it as much their burden. This whole passage may be applied to the case of an awakened sinner, ready to leave all that his soul may be saved. The Jews were prone to rely on their heathen neighbours; but they are here called upon to cease from depending on mortal man. We are all prone to the same sin. Then let not man be your fear, let not him be your hope; but let your hope be in the Lord your God. Let us make this our great concern.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.