86. Behold, A King Shall Reign In Righteousness

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Hymns: RHC 532 Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us 394 Deeper and Deeper 318 Blessed Assurance

Isaiah 32

1 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. 2 And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. 3 And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. 4 The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly. 5 The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful. 6 For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. 7 The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right. 8 But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand. 9 Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech. 10 Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come. 11 Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins. 12 They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. 13 Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city: 14 Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; 15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. 16 Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. 17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. 18 And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places; 19 When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place. 20 Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.

Behold, A King Shall Reign in Righteousness

OUTLINE

  • Rejoicing – Wisdom and Holiness and Truth (v1-8)
  • Ravages if the Enemy Had Succeeded – Trembling and Lamentation and Desolation (v9-14)
  • Result – Peace and Quiet and Assurance (v15-20)

INTRODUCTION

Human history and redemption history runs through the course of man’s existence since time immemorial. Of sin and of salvation are the two moving lines through time. God enacting His plan of redemption for fallen man and redeemed men living in righteousness sets the tone for reformation in human history. And in the history of the redeemed there is the record of straying from the righteous ways of the LORD. When the righteous fall where will the ungodly be? The LORD has preserved for Himself a remnant throughout redemption history that gives solace and courage in the hearts of His people amidst departures and inconsistencies in the life of faith for some.

Isaiah 32 is a continuation of Isaiah 31 concerning the unfaithfulness of God’s people in trusting the arms of their flesh than the strength of the LORD.

Isaiah 31:1 (KJV) Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!

Rather the admonition of the LORD is that His people will fully trust in through every trial.

Psalm 20:7-9 (KJV) Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. 8 They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright. 9 Save, LORD: let the king hear us when we call.

There are a lot of athletes with natural ability, but what is it that turns a mediocre athlete into a gold medal champion? One crucial element is that the gold medal athlete is willing to hurt more than the other.

When you can’t take another step, your muscles are sore, your body is aching – this is what it means to be running the race with perseverance as mentioned in Hebrews 12:1 with our Lord Jesus the example par excellence.

Hebrews 12:1-2 (KJV) Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

You are bearing up under tremendous pressure. You are running to build endurance. Building a faith that will go the distance take patience, to press through the injustices of life. Instead of feeling you are being treated unfairly, it’s time to your eyes on the One who was treated MOST unfairly on a cross so that we can be forgive. We are encouraged, to Run! Christian, Run! The victory is yet to be worn.

The scene of Isaiah 31 was the LORD defending His people in Judah, the LORD defending Jerusalem under the tremendous threat of the Assyrian invasion.

Isaiah 31:4 (KJV) For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.

Isaiah 31:5 (KJV) As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; andpassing over he will preserve it. 

Recall the imagery of the LORD defending His people as the swiftness of a lion devouring its prey and a mother defending her chicks.

Judah was called to turn to the LORD and away from their idols.

Here in Isaiah 32, Isaiah paints the picture of the LORD saving Jerusalem and a righteous King ruling over the city. It is an allusion to the reign of Hezekiah and ultimately the reign of Messiah.

  • Rejoicing – Wisdom and Holiness and Truth (v1-8)
  • Ravages if the Enemy Had Succeeded – Trembling and Lamentation and Desolation (v9-14)
  • Result – Peace and Quiet and Assurance (v15-20)
  • Rejoicing – Wisdom and Holiness and Truth (v1-8)

1 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. 2 And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. 3 And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. 4 The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly. 5 The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful. 6 For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. 7 The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right. 8 But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.

This chapter seems to be such a prophecy of the reign of Hezekiah as amounts to an abridgment of the history of it, and this with an eye to the kingdom of the Messiah, whose government was typified by the thrones of the house of David, for which reason he is so often called “the Son of David.” Here is a prophecy of that good work of reformation with which he should begin his reign, and the happy influence it should have upon the people, who had been wretchedly corrupted and debauched in the reign of his predecessor. [Matthew Henry]

We have here the description of a flourishing kingdom. “Blessed art thou, O land! when it is thus with thee, when kings, princes, and people, are in their places such as they should be.” 

Hezekiah was such a king who organized the nation ruling in righteousness a looking to the kingdom of Christ and the time of global reformation.

Proverbs 29:2 (KJV) When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.

The people rejoice, for the blessed effects of their good government.

Proverbs 11:10 (KJV) When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish, there isshouting.

Proverbs 28:28 (KJV) When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.

This is well taught in Psalm 72:1-7 (KJV) A Psalm for Solomon. Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son. 2 He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. 3 The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. 4 He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. 5 They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations. 6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth. 7 In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.

And a man – That is, evidently, the man referred to in the previous verse, Hezekiah (v2).

Shall be as a hiding-place from the wind – A place where one may take refuge from a violent wind and tempest.

A covert – A place of shelter and security. Wind and tempest are emblematic of calamity and oppression; and the sense is that Hezekiah would be the protector of his people, and would save them from the calamities to which they had been subjected in former reigns.

As rivers of water – This figure is often used in Isaiah. It means that the blessings of such a reign would be as grateful and refreshing as gushing fountains and running streams were to a thirsty traveller. Here it refers to the benefits that would be conferred by the reign of Hezekiah – a reign which, compared with that of his father, would be like a refreshing fountain to a weary pilgrim in a pathless desert. [Barnes]

And the eyes of them that see (v3) … – The sense of this verse is that there shall be, under the reign of this wise and pious prince, on the part of the prophets and teachers, a clear view of divine truth, and on the part of the people who hear, a disposition to hearken and to attend to it. 

They do not take time to deliberate, and consequently they are led headlong into error, and into improper courses of life (v4).

Shall understand knowledge – They shall take time to deliberate; and they shall consequently form a more enlightened judgment.

Shall be no more called liberal (v5) – It is probable that under the reign of former princes, when all views of right and wrong had been perverted, people of unprincipled character had been the subjects of flattery, and names of virtue had been attributed to them by their friends and admirers. But it would not be so under the virtuous reign of the prince here celebrated. Things would be called by their right names, and flattery would not be allowed to attribute to people, qualities which they did not possess.

Nor the churl – The word ‘churl’ means properly a rude, surly, ill-bred man; then a miser, a niggard. The Hebrew word means properly a deceiver, a fraudulent man (Gesenius). The word avaricious, however, seems to suit the connection. 

To make empty the soul of the hungry – Probably this refers to spiritual hunger and thirst; and means that such a person would take away the means of knowledge from the people, and leave them to error, ignorance, and want. The sense is, that if such persons were raised to office, they would corrupt the nation and destroy their confidence in God; and this was a reason why a virtuous prince would exclude them from any participation in his government (v6).

Even when the needy speaketh right – That is, although the cause of the needy is one of truth and equity. When this would be manifest, the unprincipled man in power would deprive him of his rights, and, therefore, under a wise and virtuous administration, such a person should not be employed (v7).

But the liberal – This seems also to have the force of a proverbial expression. The word ‘liberal’ means generous, noble, large-hearted, benevolent; a man of large views and of public spirit; a man above covetousness, avarice, and self-seeking; a man who is willing to devote himself to the welfare of his country, and to the interests of his fellow -men. It is implied here that such persons would be selected to administer the affairs of the government I under the wise and virtuous prince of whom the prophet speaks (v8).

  • Ravages if the Enemy Had Succeeded – Trembling and Lamentation and Desolation (v9-14)

9 Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech. 10 Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come. 11 Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon yourloins. 12 They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. 13 Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city: 14 Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; 15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.

In these verses we have God rising up to judgment against the vile persons, to punish them for their villainy; but at length returning in mercy to the liberal, to reward them for their liberality.

When there was so great a corruption of manners, and so much provocation given to the holy God, bad times might well be expected, and here is a warning given of such times coming. The alarm is sounded to the women that were at ease(v9) and the careless daughters, to feed whose pride, vanity, and luxury, their husbands and fathers were tempted to starve the poor. Let them hear what the prophet has to say to them in God’s name: “Rise up, and hear with reverence and attention.”

  • Result – Peace and Quiet and Assurance (v15-20)

15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. 16 Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. 17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. 18 And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places; 19 When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place. 20 Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.

Judgment and righteousness (v16). When the Spirit is poured out upon a land, then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness and turn it into a fruitful field, and righteousness shall remain in the fruitful field and make it yet more fruitful. Ministers shall expound the law and magistrates execute it, and both so judiciously and faithfully that by both the bad shall be made good and the good made better. Among all sorts of people, the poor and low and unlearned, that are neglected as the wilderness, and the rich and great and learned, that are valued as the fruitful field, there shall be right thoughts of things, good principles commanding, and conscience made of good and evil, sin and duty. Or in all parts of the land, both champaign and enclosed, country and city, the ruder parts and those that are more cultivated and refined, justice shall be duly administered. The law of Christ introduces a judgment or rule by which we must be governed, and the gospel of Christ a righteousness by which we must be saved; and, wherever the Spirit is poured out, both these dwell and remain as an everlasting righteousness.

Peace and quietness (v17-18). The peace here promised is of two kinds:

Inward peace (v17). This follows upon the indwelling of righteousness (v16). Those in whom that work is wrought shall experience this blessed product of it. It is itself peace, and the effect of it is quietness and assurance for ever, that is, a holy serenity and security of mind, by which the soul enjoys itself and enjoys its God, and it is not in the power of this world to disturb it in those enjoyments. Note, Peace, and quietness, and everlasting assurance may be expected, and shall be found, in the way and work of righteousness. True satisfaction is to be had only in true religion, and there it is to be had without fail. Those are the quiet and peaceable lives that are spent in all godliness and honesty (1 Timothy 2:2). 

First, Even the work of righteousness shall be peace. In the doing of our duty we shall find abundance of true pleasure, a present great reward of obedience in obedience. Though the work of righteousness may be toilsome and costly, and expose us to contempt, yet it is peace, such peace as is sufficient to bear our charges. Secondly, The effect of righteousness shall be quietness and assurance, not only to the end of time, of our time, and in the end, but to the endless ages of eternity. Real holiness is real happiness now and shall be perfect happiness, that is, perfect holiness, for ever.

Outward peace (v18). It is a great mercy when those who by the grace of God have quiet and peaceable spirits are by the providence of God made to dwell in quiet and peaceable habitations, not disturbed in their houses or solemn assemblies. When the terror of Sennacherib’s invasion was over, the people, no doubt, were more sensible than ever of the mercy of a quiet habitation, not disturbed with the alarms of war. Let every family study to keep itself quiet from strifes and jars within, not two against three and three against two in the house, and then put itself under God’s protection to dwell safely, and to be quiet from the fear of evil without. Jerusalem shall be a peaceable habitation. 

Plenty and abundance. There shall be such good crops gathered in everywhere, and every year, that the husbandmen shall be commended, and though happy, who sow beside all water (v20), who sow all the grounds that are fit for seedness, who cast their bread, or bread-corn, upon the water.