Isa. 5 Israel God’s vineyard; his mercies, and their unfruitfulness; should be laid waste, Isa. 5:1–7. Judgments upon covetousness, Isa. 5:8–10; upon drunkards, and the lascivious, Isa. 5:11–12. The great misery of the Jews, Isa. 5:13–17.

Now will I sing; I will record it, to be a witness for God, and against you, as Moses did his song, Deut. 31:19, Deut. 32:1. To my Well-beloved; to the Lord of the vineyard, as appears by the last clause of the verse; to God or Christ, whom I love and serve, and for whose glory, eclipsed by you, I…

Fenced it, that neither men nor beasts might spoil it. Gathered out the stones thereof; which otherwise would have marred the land; of which see 2 Kings 3:19. The sense is, He removed all hinderances, and gave them all the means of fruitfulness.

I dare make you judges in your own cause, it is so plain and reasonable.

What work is there belonging to the office of a master or keeper of the vineyard which I have neglected? How unworthy and inexcusable a crime is it, that you have not only been unfruitful in good works, but also filled with all the fruits of wickedness!

I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard; he graciously warns them beforehand, that they may have space and invitation to repent, and so to prevent the threatened miseries.

It shall not be pruned nor digged: vine-dressers use to dig up and open the earth about the roots of the vines, for divers good purposes. The meaning is. I will remove my ministers, who used great care and diligence to make you fruitful.

The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant; in whom God formerly delighted to dwell and converse. Compare Prov. 8:31, Jer. 31:20. Behold the cry from the oppressed, crying to men for help, and to God for vengeance.

That join house to house, that lay field to field; that add new purchases of houses and lands to their former possessions; not that this was in itself unlawful, but because they did this from an inordinate and insatiable desire of riches, and with the injury of their brethren, as is manifest from…

In mine ears said the Lord; I heard God speak what I now about to utter. Heb. In the ears of the Lord; may relate either, 1. To the foregoing words; The cry of your sins, and of the oppressed, as come into God’s he hears and sees it, and will certainly punish it. 2.

Ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, to wit, of wine. The bath contained about eight gallons. Thus an acre did yield one gallon. The seed of an homer shall yield an ephah which was of the same quantity with the bath, only the bath was the measure of liquid things, the ephah of dry and an…

That rise up early in the morning; which was unusual, and scandalous in that case, Eccles. 10:16, Acts 2:15. They made drinking their daily trade and business.

They give up themselves wholly to luxury, and that in a very unseasonable time, as it follows. But they regard not the work of the Lord; what God hath lately done, and is yet doing, and about to do among them; his grievous judgments, partly inflicted, and partly threatened, which required another…

Are gone into captivity; either, 1. Are actually gone, which was true of the ten tribes in Hezekiah’s reign, 2 Kings 18:9, under whom this prophecy might be uttered; or, 2. Shall certainly and shortly go, as the two tribes afterward did.

Hell; or, the grave, as this word most commonly signifies. Opened her mouth without measure, to receive those vast numbers which shall die by this famine, or otherwise, as is here implied. Their glory; their honourable men, as they were called, Isa.

All of them, both high and low, shall be brought to destruction.

Shall be exalted in judgment, by the execution of this just judgment upon his incorrigible enemies. Shall be sanctified, shall appear to be a holy God, in righteousness; by his righteous judgments.

Then; when God shall have finished that work of judgment upon the ungodly, he will extend mercy to a remainder. This is very usual in this prophet, in the midst of his threatenings, to insert something for the support of believers.

That draw iniquity; that are not only drawn to sin by the allurements of the world, or by the persuasions of wicked men, being surprised and overtaken by sin, as sometimes good men are, Gal.

Let him, to wit, God, in whose name thou and other prophets are always reproving and threatening us. Hasten his work, that we may see it; he only thinks to affright us with bugbears; but he either cannot or will not do us any harm: we do not fear him, let him do his worst; let him begin as soon as…

That call evil good, and good evil; that take away the difference between good and evil; that justify and approve wicked men and things, and condemn piety, or virtue; or righteous persons. Compare Prov. 17:15.

That being puffed up with an opinion of their own wisdom, despise the counsels and instructions of God by his prophets, and prefer their own vain fancies before the judgment of the all-wise God, as appears by the error before mentioned, Isa.

That are mighty to drink wine; that can drink much without intoxication, in which they gloried, as too many do at this day. To mingle, i.e. to drink; the antecedent being put for the consequent, which is usual; for they mingled it in order to drinking.

Justify the wicked for reward; not by mistake or incogitancy, but wilfully for bribes. Take away the righteousness of the righteous from him, to wit, juridically; they pronounce sentence against him, as if he and his cause were unjust.

Their root shall be as rottenness; they shall be like a tree which not only withers in its branches, but dies and rots at the roots, and therefore is past all hopes of recovery. The sense is, They shall be destroyed both root and branch.

The hills did tremble; a metaphorical and hyperbolical description of a grievous calamity, familiar in the prophets, as Isa. 64:1–2, Jer. 4:24, and in other authors. His hand is stretched out still, ready to give you another and a sorer blow.

He will lift up an ensign, to call them together for his service, as generals used to do for the raising of armies, to the nations from far; either, 1. To the Assyrians, of whom he speaks more particularly Isa. 10:0, and that under this same character of a people that come from far, Isa.

None shall be weary, though their march be long and tedious. As I have called them to this work, so I will strengthen and assist them in it. None shall slumber nor sleep; they shall all be watchful and diligent to take all opportunities and advantages of executing my judgments upon my people.

Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent; who are every way furnished and ready for my work, waiting only for my command. Their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, because they shall not be broken or battered by the length or stoutness and ruggedness of the way.

They shall roar like young lions; which signifies both their cruelty, and their greediness and eagerness to catch and devour the prey. None; neither the Jews themselves, nor the Egyptians, to whose help they will trust, nor any of their confederates.

Like the roaring of the sea; which is violent and frightful. Darkness and sorrow; darkness, to wit, sorrow: the latter word explains the former, and the particle and is put expositively, as it is frequently.