Isaiah 36:5

Isa_36:5

Now on whom dost thou trust?

--

Trust in others sometimes dishonoured

That question may not be without importance in matters of ordinary life. We have all to trust our fellows, more or less, and I suppose we have all had to smart in some degree, as the result of it. We may trust the mass of men in trifles without any serious consequences; but when it comes to large sums, when the whole of a mans fortune, for instance, is staked upon the character and reputation of someone else, then it is not altogether an unimportant question, On whom dost thou trust? Many have rested on some choice friend, and found him play the Judas! How often have our dearest counsellors turned away from us as Ahithophel did from David! How frequently have we confidently rested upon the integrity, friendship, and fidelity of some person whom we thought we knew and could trust, and we have found that Cursed is he that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm. Use discretion in all your transactions in life, as to how far you will trust the sons of men. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

In whom art thou trusting?

I. Let us put this question, and collect A LITTLE BUNDLE OF ANSWERS.

1. I think I hear some answer, I do not know that I have thought about the matter at all; I hope it is a long time before I shall die, and there is no need to trouble myself before it is necessary, and, therefore, I put the matter off. Do not you think that you are very foolish? There is a gate to death, ay! and to hell, too, from the place where you are now sitting. Suppose you were sure of a long life, would you wish to delay being happy?

2. I hear one say, I thank God I am about as good as most people; when my poor neighbours have needed charity, they have never found a churl in me. I hope I can say it will go well with me, and if it does not, sir, it will go badly with a good many. I am afraid it will go badly with a great many; but I do not see what consolation you ought to get out of that, for company in being ruined will not decrease, but rather increase the catastrophe. The sum and substance of your confidence is, that you are trusting in yourself. Now, do you really and honestly think that you are of yourself sufficient to bring yourself safe to Gods right hand? I think your conscience can remind you of some slips and flaws.

3. I trust in my priest; he has been regularly ordained; he belongs to an Apostolic Church; he tells me that he will forgive my sins if I confess them to him, and that when I come to die he will give me my viaticum. Do not be misled; your priest might as well trust in you as you trust in him.

4. Well, God is merciful. He is not so severe as to be unkind towards us, and we dare say, though we may have a good many faults, yet as He is a very good and gracious God, He will forgive our sins and accept us. If you go to God out of Christ, you will find Him to be a consuming fire, and instead of mercy you shall receive justice.

5. Well, sir, I do not say that I can trust to my works, but I am a good-hearted man; I am a man of good intentions, and though I have a great many faults, yet I am good-hearted at bottom, and I think God will look at my heart, and will put me right at the end, notwithstanding my slips and wanderings by the way. It will turn out, I am afraid, to be a delusion and a snare. Your heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Do not talk about its goodness any more, for when you do, you give God the lie, and how can you expect to go to the heaven where God is, when you are thus insulting Him all the while?

II. THE CHRISTIANS ANSWER. I trust, says the Christian, a triune God-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To some this does not look like a real trust. Why, we cannot see God, says one. How do we know all about this Trinity? Is this a real trust? Cannot you trust in a thousand things you have never seen or heard? Some of you may be earning your living by electricity, but you never saw it. Some have said, But does God interfere to help His people? Is the trust you impose in Him so really recognised by Him that you can distinctly prove that He helps you? Yes, we can. We can say, also, by way of commending our God to others, that we feel we can rest upon Him for the future.

III. SOME WORDS OF ADVICE TO THOSE WHO ARE SO TRUSTING.

1. Drive out all unbelief. If we have such a God to trust to, let us trust with all our might.

2. Let us seek the Holy Spirits help in this matter. The Author of our faith must be the Finisher of it also.

3. Let us try to bring others to trust where we have trusted.

4. We must prove our faith by our works. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Unregenerate human nature bad all through:

That is a very silly thing which people say of men when they die, Oh, he was rather loose in his morals, but he was a good-hearted man at bottom. It reminds me of Rowland Hills saying, Yes, but when you go to market to buy apples, and you see a number of rotten ones at the top, if the market-woman says, Oh, never mind, it is only the rotten apples at the top, they are very good at bottom, you will say to her, My good soul, I will be bound to say the best are on the top, and they will not improve as you go down, for generally they will get far worse. And so if a man is bad on the surface, I cannot tell how much worse he may be down below. It is said there was a man who used to swear and drink, who, nevertheless, applied for membership with Mr. Hill, and gave this reason for it, that though he did drink occasionally and frequently swear, yet he was good at bottom. Mr. Hill said, Then you think I am going grovelling down through the dirty foul filth of your life to get the little good that is somewhere at the bottom of you! Why, sir, it will not pay for the risk of digging out, and I am not going to do it. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

IN WHOM ART THOU TRUSTING?

Isa_36:5.… Now on whom dost thou trust?

The question is important in ordinary life, but it is overwhelmingly so in spiritual things.

I. A LITTTE BUNDLE OF ANSWERS.

1. “I do not know that I have thought about the matter; I have left the matter of dying, and of eternity, and of judgment out of my consideration.” How foolish! There are more gates to death than you dream of. Have not you walked with dying men? Suppose you were sure of a long life, why delay being happy? Christ says of the rich man in hell, “He lift up his eyes.” He might and should have done so before, but he said, “Tell my brethren.”

2. “I thank God I am about as good as most people.” Company in being ruined will not decrease, but rather increase the catastrophe. You are trusting in yourself. But is conscience quiet? Only the absolutely perfect man can be saved by his own works.

3. “I trust in my priest.” Has any priest grace to spare for you? You are, or may be, as much a priest as any man can be; Christians are “a royal priesthood.”

4. “Well, God is merciful.” You are trusting in the mercy of God; but, as you state it, you are trusting in what you will never find. If you go to God out of Christ, you will find Him to be a consuming fire; instead of mercy you shall receive justice (H. E. I. 2316–2317, 2349–2350).

5. “Well, I do not say that I can trust to my works, but I am a good-hearted man.” There is much truth in the saying, “If it is bad at the top, it is worse at the bottom; and if it is not good on the surface, it will never pay for getting at it” (Jer_17:9; H. E. I. 2669–2680).

II. THE CHRISTIAN’S ANSWER.

I trust a triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I trust to the Father’s choosing me; to the Son, as my Redeemer, Intercessor, my resurrection, and life; to the Holy Spirit, to save me from my inbred sins, to sanctify me wholly.

To some men this does not look like a real trust. “We cannot see God; how do we know all this about the Trinity?” Cannot you trust in a thousand things you have never seen or heard? You have never seen electricity nor gravity. Those that have trusted in God find Him to be as real as if they could see Him. “Can we prove that God interferes to help His people?” Yes, He hears prayer. A Christian is sometimes asked whether he has a right to trust God. He has God’s promise to help him. “Is He worthy to be trusted?” He has proved Himself faithful and true. The Christian commends God to others in saying that he feels he can rest upon Him for the future.

III. SOME WORDS OF ADVICE TO THOSE WHO ARE TRUSTING.

1. Drive out all unbelief. With such a God to trust to, let us trust with all our might. It is an insult to Him to doubt Him. The devil calls God a liar, but it is hard if a man’s own child is to think ill of his father. We are verily guilty in speaking hard things of our God.

2. Seek the Holy Spirit’s help. We have often said we would not doubt again, yet we have Let us ask to be strengthened. We often forget that the Author of our faith must be the Finisher of it also.

3. Try to bring others to trust where we have trusted (Joh_1:40-42; Joh_1:45).

4. Love Him who thus gives Himself to be trusted by us. The sister graces ever live together. Show your love.

4. We must prove our faith by our works. Let us do more for God. “No day without a deed.” Cease working and you will soon cease believing.—C. H. Spurgeon: Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol xi. pp. 469–480.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

36:5 Who are you counting on: Judah had asked Egypt to help them (see 30:1-5).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

1. In the book of Kings (18:20) Thou sayest (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for war; that is, thou hast said to thy people, that thou hast wisdom and strength for war, but this was only a word of the lips, thy strength consisted only in words. In the book of Isaiah (36:5) it is said, I say but vain words are counsel and strength for war. These are the words of Rabshakeh; he says: I believe, that thy counsel and strength for war consist only in words.

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

He speaketh this in the person of Hezekiah, falsely charging him that he put his trust in his wit and eloquence, whereas his only confidence was in the Lord.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

counsel--Egypt was famed for its wisdom.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 5. I say - "Thou hast said"] Fourteen MSS. (three ancient) of Kennicott's and De Rossi's have it in the second person, אמרת amarta; and so the other copy, 2Kg 18:20.

But they are but vain words] דבר שפתים debar sephathayim, a word of the lips. Thou dost talk about counsels, but thou hast none; about strength, but there is none with thee.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(5, 6) I have counsel and strength for war . . .—Reports of Hezekiah’s speech. probably also of his negotiations with Egypt, had reached the ears of the Assyrian king. So Sennacherib. in his inscriptions, speaks of “the king of Egypt as a monarch who could not save those who trusted in him” (Smith, Assyrian Canon). The Pharaoh in this case was Shabatoka, or Sabaco II., the father of the Tir-hakah of Isa xxxvii 9, one of the Ethiopian dynasty that reigned in Egypt from B.C. 725-665.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5. I say, sayest thou, (but they are but vain words) &c.] Rather (as Cheyne and others) Thinkest thou that a mere word of the lips is counsel and strength for war? “You cannot think so,” reasons the Rabshakeh, “you must have some ground of confidence; what is it?” The rendering of A.V. which takes the phrase “merely a word of the lips” as a parenthetic ejaculation is intelligible, but hardly right. In any case the text must be corrected in accordance with that of 2Ki_18:20 (“thou sayest [thinkest]” for “I say [think]”).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I say, (sayest thou,) but they are but vain words,.... Or, "word of lips" (f); meaning the following, which he suggests were only the fruit of his lips, not of his heart; or were vain and foolish, and without effect, and stood for nothing; so the first part of the words are Hezekiah's, "I say (sayest thou)"; and the latter, Rabshakeh's note upon them; though they may be understood as Hezekiah's, or what he is made to speak by Rabshakeh, as the ground of his confidence, namely, "word of lips"; that is, prayer to God, as Kimchi explains it; or eloquence in addressing his soldiers, and encouraging them to fight, either of which Rabshakeh derides, as well as what follows:

I have counsel and strength for war; as he had; he had wise ministers to consult, and was capable of forming a good plan, and wise schemes, and of putting them in execution, and of heartening men; though he did not put his confidence in these things, as Rabshakeh suggested, Ch2 32:3, the words may be rendered; "but counsel and strength are for war" (g): what signifies words to God, or eloquence with men? this is all lip labour, and of little service; wisdom and counsel to form plans, and power to execute them, are the things which are necessary to carry on a war with success, and which, it is intimated, were wanting in Hezekiah; and therefore he had nothing to ground his confidence upon, within himself, or his people:

now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me? which it does not appear he had, having paid the money agreed to for the withdrawment of his army; but this was a pretence for the siege of Jerusalem.

(f) "verbum labiorum", Montanus; "vel, sermo labiorum", Vatablus. (g) "consilium et fortitudo ad praelium", Montanus; "sed consilio et fortitudine opus ad praelium", Pagninus, i.e. "requiruntur", ut Grotius.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

I say, sayest thou - In 2Ki 18:20, this is ‘thou sayest;’ and thus many manuscripts read it here, and Lowth and Noyes have adopted that reading. So the Syriac reads it. But the sense is not affected whichever reading is adopted. It is designed to show to Hezekiah that his reliance, either on his own resources or on Egypt, was vain.

But they are but vain words - Margin, as Hebrew, ‘A word of lips;’ that is, mere words; vain and empty boasting.

On whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me? - Hezekiah had revolted from the Assyrian power, and had refused to pay the tribute which had been imposed on the Jews in the time of Ahaz 2Ki 18:7.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

5. And the contempt is kept up through several verses. Instead of the interpretation given in italicized words in this verse, a better meaning of the original is this: “I, Rabshakeh, say, A mere word of lips [foolish talk] is your counsel and strength for the war which you are vainly urging upon your armed men and followers.” The speaker feigns that this counsel and strength is what Egypt has promised.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I say. In 2Ki_18:20 we read, "Thou sayest" for "I say," which gives a better sense. Dr. Kay holds the two forms to be "complementary." I have counsel and strength for war. Either the words of Hezekiah had been reported to Sennacherib, or he rightly divined Hezekiah"s thoughts. It was, no doubt, in reliance on the "counsel" of Eliakim and the "strength" of Egypt that the Jewish monarch had a second time provoked his suzerain.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

“I say (or have said), only word of lips, counsel and strength for the war; now on whom hast thou confided, that thou hast rebelled against me?” The parallel passage in Kings has ‘thou hast said’, which Lowth assumes to be the true text here, while others treat the common reading as an error of the writer or abridger. The truth no doubt is that both the readings are original, since both may be so explained as to express the same idea. The simplest construction of what follows is: ‘I say, mere word of lips is (your) counsel and strength for the war,’ (i.e., your pretended strength) and wisdom are mere talk, false pretension. The allusion is not so much to Hezekiah’s prayers as to his addresses to the people, recorded in 2Ch 32:6-8. The sense of the other passage (2Ki 18:20) seems to be, thou hast said (to thyself, or thought, that) mere talk is counsel and strength for the war. The contemptuous import of word of lips, is apparent from Pro 14:23. The rebellion mentioned in the last clause is Hezekiah’s casting off the Assyrian yoke. (2Ki 18:7).

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Prophecies of Isaiah (1846–1847; New York: Scribner, 1870–1878) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

trust

(See Scofield "Psa 2:12")

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I said (until now), “It is but words of the lips, that he speaks (lit., in his mouth), saying, ‘I will not serve the king of Assyria.’ And when he sees that I will march against him with an army, he will recant. Now I have marched. From now on, either he will serve me, or he will need to seek counsel and might for war.”

Now that the time has come, tell me now on whom you have depended to rebel against me.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.