Isaiah 24

Wesley: They—the remnant shall sing for the glorious power and goodness of God, manifested in their deliverance. The sea—from the isles of the sea; from those parts beyond the sea into which they were carried captive. Remnant songs from the west.

Captives shouting the LORD’s majesty. The gleaning of v. 13 now sings.

Calvin: they shall lift up their voice. The small number of the godly left out of an abundant vintage will nevertheless rejoice so loud that it will be heard in the most distant countries. This was done by the preaching of the gospel.

Sing for joy over the LORD’s majesty.

Wesley: In distress—when you are in the furnace of affliction. In the isles—in remote countries, beyond the sea, which in scripture are commonly called isles. Both traditions agree: east and coastlands glorify the God of Israel.

Calvin: wherefore glorify Jehovah in the valleys; in the isles of the sea glorify the name of the Lord God of Israel. God’s benefits ought to excite us to thanksgiving even in distant places. The God of Israel is named so the remnant will not forget whose name they bear.

Give glory to the LORD.

Wesley: From—from all the parts of the earth in which the Jews are or shall be. Songs—of joy and praise. Glory—or, glory be to the righteous. The Lord, the righteous one. But—in the midst of these joyful tidings, I discern something which gives me cause of lamentation. My leanness—I faint and pine away for grief. Treacherously—the Jews, who have been frequently guilty of great perfidiousness towards God, are now acting the same part. Even the Hebrew doctors expound this place of the perfidiousness of some Jews in the times of the Messiah. Songs to the Righteous One; then the prophet’s woe over traitors.

Pity at treachery is.

Calvin: from the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. This verse contains two statements: distant praise, then the prophet’s grief. My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me: the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously. In the midst of consolation he sees betrayal that will still waste the remnant’s peace. The Righteous One is the Lord; the traitors are those who break faith in that age.

Glory to the Righteous One; traitors betray.

Wesley: The snare—great and various judgments, some actually inflicted, and others justly feared. Terror, pit, snare on the inhabitant.

The wordplay is judgment.

Calvin: fear, and the pit, and the snare are on thee, O inhabitant of the earth. The three catch the fleeing man of v. 18. Inhabitant of the earth: those named in the summary of ch. 13–23, Judah first.

Terror is on every inhabitant of the earth.

Wesley: Fleeth—upon the report of some terrible evil. The foundations—both heaven and earth conspire against him. He alludes to the deluge of waters which God poured down from heaven, and to the earthquakes which he often causes below. Agreed on both sides: flight fails; windows and foundations.

Deluge-allusion is language for calamity, as Wesley said of ch. 34’s sky.

Calvin: he who fleeth from the noise of the fear will fall into the pit; he that cometh up out of the midst of the middle of the pit will be taken in the snare. The windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake. Some think he alludes to the deluge; in my opinion the meaning is simpler: the wrath of God will be revealed above and below, heaven and earth armed to execute vengeance, that wherever they turn they behold destruction.

Whoever escapes the terror falls into the pit, and whoever escapes the pit is caught in the snare.

Wesley: The earth—this is repeated again, to shew the dreadfulness and, certainty of these judgments, and to awaken the stupid Israelites. Broken, split, shaken.

The repetition is meant to wake Israel.

Calvin: by breaking down is the earth broken down. He heightens punishments by various expressions. Careless men must be aroused; the style is adorned so sluggish minds may be stung. This doctrine ought to be limited to the wicked; the godly are not exempted from the shaking but are not destroyed with the reprobate.

The earth is violently shaken.

Wesley: A tent—which is easily and commonly carried from place to place. Both readings hold: stagger, hut, heavy transgression, fall without rising.

The weight is guilt of v. 5. Will not rise: that order of pride does not recover.

Calvin: the earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a tent; the transgression thereof shall be heavy on it, and it shall fall, and not rise again. This does not mean that any change will take place in the situation of the earth; he means that the shaking is incurable for the wicked order he has described. Transgression is the weight.

Falls and will not rise.

His gathered of v. 22 still names the stroke: by God’s special providence, in order to their punishment; unbelieving Jews gathered at Jerusalem when Titus besieged them. Both agree: the LORD punishes high ones and kings.

Calvin: and it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. This passage has tortured many commentators. Host of the high place: whether stars, angels, or earthly princes viewed as high, the Lord punishes what is high with the kings of the earth. The day is still the visitation in this summary, not a forced last-day scheme.

High ones and kings fall together. Agreed: the LORD will punish.

Wesley: Gathered—by God’s special providence, in order to their punishment. And thus the unbelieving Jews were generally gathered together at Jerusalem, to their solemn feast, when Titus came and besieged, and destroyed them. Shut up—as malefactors, which are taken in several places, are usually brought to one common prison. After—after the apostate Jews shall have been shut up in unbelief, and in great tribulations for many ages together, they shall be convinced of their sin in crucifying the Messiah, and brought home to God and Christ by true repentance. Pit, prison, after many days.

Wesley’s after-many-days is repentance toward Christ, shared christology.

Calvin: they shall be gathered together as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. Afterwards they shall be visited is not simply a promise; it includes a threatening: God will punish without making haste. Visit also means to look upon, and thus the Prophet softens the threatening for the godly. After many days: intended to try the faith of the godly; we must wait patiently. This does not refer to all; God had determined to save but a small remnant.

Shut up; after many days.

Wesley: The sun—all earthly powers and glories shall be obscured with the far greater splendour of Christ, the king of kings, at whose feet even the kings of the earth shall fall down and worship. The Lord—the Messiah, who, tho’ man, yet is also God, and the Lord of hosts. Shall reign—shall come in the flesh, and set up his kingdom, first in Jerusalem, and afterward in all other nations. Before—before his ministers, who are in some sort the courtiers of the King of Glory. But the ancients are here put for the whole church, in whose name and for whose service they act. Agreed on both sides: sun and moon dimmed; the LORD of Armies will reign on Zion; glory before elders.

Shared christology with Calvin—Messiah, God and man, reigns.

Calvin: the moon shall be confounded. Many commentators think the Prophet waxes still more wroth against the Jews, so that sun and moon are ashamed of their unbelief; this appears far from his design. I have no doubt that he continues the consolation: when the Lord shall visit his people and cleanse the Church, he will establish a kingdom so illustrious that it will darken the sun and stars by its brightness. When the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion: the complex phrase always denotes mercy and salvation. He speaks of the restoration of the Church, and hence it follows that it is only in Christ that those things are fulfilled. Before his elders glory: the chief part of the Church for the whole; he reigns so that we feel he is present. The glory of Christ alone must hold a high place.

Common ground with Wesley: the LORD of hosts is Christ; elders stand for the church.