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Isaiah 55
1Ho, 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.
2Wherefore 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.
3Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
4Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
5Behold, 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.
6Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
7Let 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.
8For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10For 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:
11So 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.
12For 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.
13Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier 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.
Meaning of Isaiah 55
55:1 Ho, every one that a thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath b no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy c wine and milk without money and without price.
(a) Christ by proposing his graces and gifts to his Church, exempts the hypocrites who are full with their imagined works, and the Epicureans who are full with their worldly lusts, and so do not thirst after these waters.
(b) Signifying that Gods benefits cannot be bought for money.
(c) By waters, wine, milk and bread, he means all things necessary to the spiritual life, as these are necessary to this corporal life.
55:2 Why do ye spend money for [that which is] not bread? d and your labour for [that which] satisfieth not? hearken diligently to me, and eat ye [that which is] good, and let your soul delight itself in e fatness.
(d) He reproves their ingratitude, who refuse those things that God offers willingly, and in the mean time spare neither cost nor labour to obtain those which are not profitable.
(e) You will be fed abundantly.
55:3 Incline your ear, and come to me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, [even] the f sure mercies of David.
(f) The same covenant which through my mercy I ratified and confirmed to David, that it would be eternal, ( 2 Samuel 7:13 ; Acts 13:34 ).
55:4 Behold, I have given g him [for] a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
(g) Meaning Christ, of whom David was a figure.
55:5 Behold, thou shalt call a nation [that] thou knowest not, h and nations [that] knew not thee shall run to thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.
(h) That is, the Gentiles, who before you did not receive to be your people.
55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be i found, call ye upon him while he is near:
(i) When he offers himself by the preaching of his word.
55:7 Let the wicked k forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return to the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
(k) By this he shows that repentance must be joined with faith, and how we cannot call on God correctly, unless the fruits of our faith appear.
55:8 For my l thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither [are] your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
(l) Although you are not soon reconciled one to another and judge me by yourselves, yet I am easy to be reconciled, yea, I offer my mercies to you.
55:11 So shall my m word be that proceedeth from my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper [in the thing] for which I sent it.
(m) If these small things have their effect, as daily experience shows much more will my promise which I have made and confirmed, bring to pass the things which I have spoken for your deliverance.
55:12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the n mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap [their] hands.
(n) Read ( Isaiah 44:23 Isaiah 49:13 )
55:13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD o for a name, for an everlasting p sign [that] shall not be cut off.
(o) To set forth his glory.
(p) Of Gods deliverance, and that he will never forsake his Church
ricklee's poetry plus 