Bible Commentaries

It is the language of infinite mercy, speaking to the abject condition of mankind. We have become naked, and poor, and miserable through sin, and God, instead of driving us from his presence, comes loaded with mercy, And thus he speaks to us.

Isaiah 55:1. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

See the freeness of divine love! See how God who knows the wants of souls, provides all things needful for them — water — the water of life; and as if that were not enough, the wine of joy, the milk of satisfaction; and he offers these freely. But, mark, there is no gain for him: the gain is for ourselves, for he saith, “He that hath no money, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” All that you want, dear friend, God is ready to give you. Do you want these good things? Then come and welcome. It is God who bids you come.

Isaiah 55:2. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not?

Why do you seek to get comfort for your souls where you will never get it? Why do you try to content your immortal nature upon things that will die? There is nothing here below that can satisfy you. Why spend your money then for these things, and your labour for nothing?

Isaiah 55:2. Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

God has real food for your soul — something that will make you truly happy. He will satisfy you, not with the name of goodness, but with the reality of it, if you will but come and have it. You shall have fullness —you shall have delight — if you are but willing to come and receive it.

Isaiah 55:3. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live;

Then who would not hear — who would not give the attention — if by that attention life immortal may be received?

Isaiah 55:3. And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

Will God enter into covenant with sinful men — with thirsty men — with hungry men — with needy men — with guilty men? Ah! that he will. “I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.”

Isaiah 55:4. Behold, I have given him

That is the Son of David — Jesus the Christ — “I have given him.”

Isaiah 55:4. For a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.

If you want anyone to tell you what God is, Jesus Christ is the witness to the character of God. Do you want a leader to lead you back to peace and happiness — a commander by whose power you may be able to fight Satan and all the powers of darkness that hold you in bondage? Has all in Jesus Christ that I can need for time and eternity, and this can all be mine for the asking, and receiving. Shall we not ask and receive?

Isaiah 55:1. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters,-

To the waters which flowed from that smitten Rock of which we have been reading.

Isaiah 55:1-3. And he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me:

See, the way of salvation is through Ear-gate. We must hear the gospel, for it is not what we are to do, but what we are to receive that will save us; and we must come to God to hear it before we can receive it. “Faith cometh by hearing.” Give a very earnest ear, then, to the preaching of the gospel of Christ: “Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.” Again the Lord says, “Incline your ear, and come unto me.”

Isaiah 55:3. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

Says someone, “I can understand God making a covenant with David; but will He make a covenant with me?” Yes, and after the same sure tenor, too: “I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.” God will promise to bless you, and save you, and keep you, and present you in glory in the day of Christ’s appearing; and this shall be a covenant which shall never be broken. Though all things else are changed, yet that covenant shall stand secure for ever. It will fill you with joy when you understand that such a covenant as this is made with you; and you will say, as David did, “Although my house be not so with God; yet He hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure.” Oh, what a blessing it is to have a share in this covenant!

Isaiah 55:4. Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.

“I have given him;” that is, David’s greater Son, the true David, “I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.”

Isaiah 55:5. Behold, thou —

That is, Jesus, the Son of David: “Behold, thou” —

Isaiah 55:5-7. Shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Oh, that many may put this blessed promise to the proof even now, for Christ’s sake! Amen,

This exposition consisted of readings from Isaiah 53; and Isaiah 55:1-7.

Isaiah 55:1. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat: yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Remark the wonderful condescension of God, that though the gifts of his grace are so precious that all the world could not buy them, yet he condescends to ask his creature to have those gifts. He stands, as it were, like one who has goods to sell, and he cries, “Ho! such and such a passer-by, turn hither: give ear in this way. Ho! everyone that thirsteth.” If, then, there is any soul that wants God, O soul, God desires you infinitely more than you desire him; and he invites you to come to him. Do not delay.

Isaiah 55:2. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not?

Seeking happiness in a thousand ways with much toil and trouble, but with bitter disappointment.

Isaiah 55:2. Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

God invites his creature to listen to him. “Do,” saith he “but lend me thine ear a little. Do but hearken diligently to what I have to tell you.” Oh! should not God’s message of love command the attention of all mankind?

Isaiah 55:3. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live;

Salvation does not come to men through the eye, but through the ear. Not what you see in the finery of the priest or the altar. That can do you no good. But listen to the gospel. It is by ear-gate that God’s mercy comes triumphant into the soul of man. “Incline your ear and come unto me. Hear and your soul shall live.”

Isaiah 55:3. And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

Here God will strike hands with the sinner and enter into a compact with him — a covenant of mercy and of grace, through Jesus Christ, the Saviour.

Isaiah 55:4. Behold I have given him for a witness to the people,

To bear witness to men of what God is.

Isaiah 55:4. A leader and commander to the people.

For Christ loves the people, and he leads them rightly. He will lead them to glory.

Isaiah 55:5. Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.

The promise is to Christ. Today are these words fulfilled in our ears, for, in calling these British Isles to know Christ, God has given to the Lord Jesus a people that knew him not. What did our forefathers know of Jesus when he was here below? And yet in this land he has multitudes of hearts that love his name. Oh! that God would give this whole house full of souls to Christ tonight. What a casket it would make full of jewels! Oh! that the gracious Father would bestow it on his Son!

Isaiah 55:6-11. Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Therefore, we are not at all afraid about the success of the preaching of the gospel. Some will be saved tonight wherever Jesus Christ is preached. My dear unsaved hearer, will it be you? I pray it may be. May the Lord grant that this may be the last night of your unregeneracy, and be your spiritual birth-night. Some will be saved. Will you be of the number?

This exposition consisted of readings from Psalms 138.; Isaiah 55:1-11; Romans 8:28-39.

Isaiah 55:1-2. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not?

Why have you sought rest where it can never be found? Why have you craved delights which can never satisfy you? Cease from such folly.

Isaiah 55:2. Hearken diligently unto me, —

Thus speaks the Lord Jehovah: “Hearken diligently unto me, —

Isaiah 55:2-3. And eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, —

“With you” who have any desire for it, — “with you” who hunger and thirst after righteousness, and who have no other recommendation than that, poor as it is, — “I will make an everlasting covenant with you” —

Isaiah 55:3-4. Even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given him —

The Son of David, — “great David’s greater Son,” — and God’s own well beloved and only-begotten Son, even Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. God says “I have given him”—

Isaiah 55:4-7. For a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel, for he hath glorified thee. Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Blessed be his holy name!

Isaiah 55:8-13. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and making it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall, not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

This exposition consisted of readings from Psalms 23 and Isaiah 55.