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Scott's Reference Library
Isaiah 55:1 through Isaiah 55:9 (NIV)
1 “Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.
4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander of the peoples.
5 Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations that do not know you will hasten to you,
because of the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor.”
6 Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake his way
and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
VERSES 1-5
All are welcome to the blessings of salvation, to whom those blessings are
welcome. In Christ there is enough for all, and enough for each. Those satisfied
with the world, that see no need of Christ, do not thirst. They are in no
uneasiness about their souls: but where God gives grace, he gives a thirst after
it; and where he has given a thirst after it, he will give it. Come to Christ,
for he is the Fountain opened, he is the Rock smitten. Come to holy ordinances,
to the streams that make glad the city of our God. Come to the healing waters,
come to the living waters, Revelation 22:17. Our Saviour referred to this, John
7:37. Come, and buy; make it your own by application of the grace of the gospel
to yourselves. Come, and eat; make it still more your own, and enjoy it. The
world comes short of our expectations; we promise ourselves, at least, water in
it, and we are disappointed; but Christ outdoes our expectations. We come to
him, and we find wine and milk. The gifts offered to us are such as no price can
be set upon. The things offered are already paid for; for Christ purchased them
at the full price of his own blood, 1 Peter 1:19. Our wants are beyond number,
and we have nothing to supply them; if Christ and heaven are ours, we see
ourselves for ever indebted to free grace. Hearken diligently; let the proud
heart stoop; not only come, but accept God’s offers. All the wealth and pleasure
in the world, will not yield solid comfort and content to the soul. They do not
satisfy even the appetites of the body; for all is vanity and vexation. Let the
disappointments we meet with in the world, help to drive us to Christ, and to
seek for satisfaction in him only. Then, and not before, we shall find rest for
our souls. Hear, and your soul shall live. On what easy terms is happiness
offered us! By the sure mercies of David, we are to understand the Messiah. All
his mercies are covenant mercies; they are purchased by him, they are promised
in him, and out of his hand they are dispensed to us. We know not how to find
the way to the waters, but Christ is given to be a Leader, a Commander, to show
us what to do, and enable us to do it. Our business is to obey him, and follow
him. And there is no coming to the Father but by him. He is the Holy One of
Israel, true to his promises; and he has promised to glorify Christ, by giving
him the heathen for his inheritance.
VERSES 6-13
Here is a gracious offer of pardon, and peace, and of all happiness. It shall
not be in vain to seek God, now his word is calling to us, and his Spirit is
striving with us. But there is a day coming when he will not be found. There may
come such a time in this life; it is certain that at death and judgment the door
will be shut. There must be not only a change of the way, but a change of the
mind. We must alter our judgments about persons and things. It is not enough to
break off from evil practices, we must strive against evil thoughts. To repent
is to return to our Lord, against whom we have rebelled. If we do so, God will
multiply to pardon, as we have multiplied to offend. But let none trifle with
this plenteous mercy, or use it as an occasion to sin. Men’s thoughts concerning
sin, Christ, and holiness, concerning this world and the other, vastly differ
from God’s; but in nothing more than in the matter of pardon. We forgive, and
cannot forget; but when God forgives sin, he remembers it no more. The power of
his word in the kingdoms of providence and grace, is as certain as in that of
nature. Sacred truth produces a spiritual change in the mind of men, which
neither rain nor snow can make on the earth. It shall not return to the Lord
without producing important effects. If we take a special view of the church, we
shall find what great things God has done, and will do for it. The Jews shall
come to their own land; this shall represent the blessings promised. Gospel
grace will make a great change in men. Delivered from the wrath to come, the
converted sinner finds peace in his conscience; and love constrains him to
devote himself to the service of his Redeemer. Instead of being profane,
contentious, selfish, or sensual, behold him patient, humble, kind, and
peaceable. The hope of helping in such a work should urge us to spread the
gospel of salvation. And do thou help us, O Spirit of all truth, to have such
views of the fulness, freeness, and greatness of the rich mercy in Christ, as
may remove from us all narrow views of sovereign grace.