Isaiah 59:13

59:9-15 If we shut our eyes against the light of Divine truth, it is just with God to hide from our eyes the things that belong to our peace. The sins of those who profess themselves God's people, are worse than the sins of others. And the sins of a nation bring public judgments, when not restrained by public justice. Men may murmur under calamities, but nothing will truly profit while they reject Christ and his gospel.

The word of the Lord, as the Targum; they transgress the doctrine of Christ, as well as the law of God, and deny him the only Lord God, even our Lord Jesus Christ, his proper deity, his righteousness, and satisfaction, which is notorious in our days; so the Syriac version renders it, we have denied the Lord; the Lord that bought them: this is the case of many under a profession of Christ: and departing away from our God: from following him, from walking in his ways, from attending his worship, word, and ordinances; so the Targum, "from the worship of our God;'' from Immanuel, God with us, God in our nature; from him the living God, as every degree of unbelief is a departing from him; and especially he is departed from when his divine Person is denied; when neglected as the Saviour; his Gospel corrupted; his ordinances perverted, and his worship, or the assembly of the saints, forsaken: speaking oppression and revolt: such who are in public office, speakers in the church of God; these speak what is oppressive and burdensome to the minds and consciences of those who are truly gracious; make their hearts sad, whom God would not have made sad, by their false doctrines; and which have a tendency to cause men to revolt from the Lord, and turn their backs on him: or "speak calumny and defection" (e), as some render it; calumniate, reproach, and revile the few faithful ones, and draw off many from the truths of the Gospel, and a profession of them.

He now enumerates some of those particular sins they profess themselves to be convinced of, whereby he doth not mean the sins of some particular persons, or some slight sins, but a general defection and corruption of the whole body. In transgressing: properly, we rebel against God, so the word is Isaiah 1:2 , and have persisted in our rebellion. Lying; being true to none of their engagements, vows, and promises. Some make transgressing here and lying to be one and the same thing, inasmuch as in their transgressing of the law of God they did break their solemn engagement to God upon Mount Sinai, Exodus 19:8 24:3 , and elsewhere frequently, which is a downright lying against God; for wherein do we more lie to God than in a perfidious withdrawing from him? So that by transgressing here he doth mean not a breach of One or another of the laws of God, but their being as it were fugitives, that would be under no yoke. Departing, i.e. turning from God to idols. Speaking; as it were talking of little else one among another but how to oppress their neighbours, and apostatize from God.

Conceiving and uttering, i.e. first contriving and forging in their heart false accusations to the ruin of their neighbour, and false worship to the dishonour of God, laying the contrivance so that it might be effectual; and then uttering it, or venting themselves one to another in their discourses, thereby encouraging each other in their perverse ways; see Isaiah 59:3 ; and whereas it is said from the heart, it notes a resoluteness in their wickedness, being a great deal worse than now and then to deal falsely upon some occasion or temptation. From the heart words of falsehood: they are called words of falsehood , both with reference to men, and so signify slanders and false accusations; as also to God, and so signify their dealing falsely with God, as an adulteress doth with her husband: hence idolaters are called the seed of falsehood , Isaiah 57:3-5 ; and it is said from the heart , to show that when they dealt with men in ways of fraud, it was from the heart , but when they spake with God, it was but from the lip.

13 . The sins referred to in Isaiah 59:12 are enumerated in a series of infinitives (cf. Isaiah 59:4 ), which should be construed as in apposition to the terms “sin,” “iniquities,” &c. employed in the general confession of Isaiah 59:12 . Rebellion and denial of Jehovah , and turning back from after our God, etc. It is doubtful if there is any reference here to the sin of idolatry; the charge of apostasy is perhaps rather to be understood of offences against social morality, which amounted to a renunciation of the authority of Jehovah. The last two lines deal with sins of speech, committed against men. revolt is literally “defection,” and appears to be used in the same general sense as Deuteronomy 19:16 of declension from truth and right. uttering from the heart ] The verb here is identical in form with that rendered “mutter” in Isaiah 59:3 and “mourn” in Isaiah 59:11 . The vocalisation of both the verbs in this clause is anomalous, and should probably be changed (read hârô, hâgô ).

Verse 13. - An enumeration of special sins. First, sins of the heart. Transgressing and lying against the Lord ; or rather, treason and unfaithfulness to Jehovah (Cheyne); followed by departing away from God, or the secret act of apostasy. Next, sins of the tongue: Speaking oppression and revolt; or, oppression and wrong - the "wrong," probably, of false accusation (comp. Deuteronomy 19:16 ); and, lastly, conceiving and uttering · . . words of falsehood generally. Isaiah 59:13

In transgressing - That is, we have been guilty of this as a continuous act. And lying against the Lord - We have proved false to Yahweh. Though we have been professedly his people, yet we have been secretly attached to idols, and have in our hearts been devoted to the service of false gods. And departing away from our God - By the worship of idols, and by the violation of his law. Speaking oppression and revolt - Forming plans to see how we might best take advantage of the poor and the defenseless, and to mature our plans of revolt against God. Conceiving and uttering from the heart - (See the notes at Isaiah 59:4). The idea is, that they had formed in their hearts schemes of deception, and that in their conversation and their lives they had given utterance to them. All this is the language of genuine contrition, where there is a consciousness of deep guilt in the sight of God. There is an overpowering sense of the evil of sin. and a willingness to make the most full and ample acknowledgment, however mortifying it may be, of the errors and follies of the life.