Isaiah 55:10

Isa 55:10 For 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:

Ver. 10. For as the rain cometh down.] Simile omnium elegantissimum pariter et notissimum. Of the use and efficacy of fit similitudes: {See Trapp on "Hos 12:10"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Isa_55:10-13

For as the rain cometh down

Rain snow, symbolic of the Word of God

The fitness of the symbolism is apparent even to the most casual observer.

1. Snow and rain are characterized by gentleness which merges into force. One drop of rain falls upon my hand, and I crush it, and it is not; but when the drop is multiplied, and the great storm sweeps along the valley, it is almost resistless in its onrush. One feathery flake of snow falls through the atmosphere; I touch it, and it passes and is lost, its crystal beauty gone for ever at the rudeness of my human hand; but let that flake be multiplied and the falling snow will take hold of the thundering locomotive, clog its wheels, cheek its progress, bury it beneath its soft and noiseless whiteness.

2. Rain and snow are characterized by helplessness which grows into beneficence. We ask: What can this drop of rain do for man? What can this flake of snow do for humanity? And yet we know that when we pass from the individual drop to the great rain, that in falling makes the earth laugh back in harvest, and crowns the labour of the hands of men. There is no more exquisite word in all Scripture about Nature than that simple and sublime passage, He giveth His snow like wool. Like a warm mantle, it wraps the earth in winter-time, and keeps it, itself of the nature of cold, from the penetration of intenser cold. And so we find that rain and snow, helpless as they seem, are the very messengers of beneficence to men.

3. Rain and snow come to us characterized by unfruitfulness, yet generating fruitfulness, wherever they fall. (G. Campbell Morgan, D. D.)

The Word of God

Let us take this symbolism of the prophet and consider it exactly as he has stated it--

I. AS TO THE SIMILARITIES SUGGESTED. Let me first tabulate the phrase that we are to consider in this verse: Cometh from heaven, returneth not thither; watereth the earth, making it bring forth, and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater.

1. Man has nothing to do with the coming of the rain and the snow. In the midst of that wonderful questioning of Job by God occur these two inquiries: Hast thou entered into the treasuries of the snow? which, being translated, from poetry into prose, means, Do you understand the snow. Do you know from whence it comes. Can you analyze the mystery of its crystallization and deposit? Then, Hath the rain a father? Are you able to generate it, to produce it? The Word of God is a message from God to man which no man was able to find out for himself. It is never a philosophy formulated by human wisdom; it is always a revelation made. The supreme quality of the Word of God is that however men may occupy their time in discussing thee methods by which we have come into possession of these documents, there is stamped upon every page of it the sign manual of Jehovah, great unveilings of His nature, great revelations of the deepest secrets of human life, great illumination of the problems that confront men by Divine revelation. It is the gift of God and not the contrivance of man.

2. But it returneth not thither. The snow and the rain pour themselves out on the face of the earth, they melt and pass, and within a very few hours of the great rainfall which has sweetened everything in its coming the roads are dusty again, and we say, How soon the rain has passed. So after the snow has once come under the influence of the sun it is gone. Judged by first appearances, it seems as though this gift of heaven had been poured upon earth to be spoiled, contaminated, wasted. So the Word of God. The Word of God has been given to men in figure and symbol, in prophecy and song, and at last in the Person of Jesus, and since He came, in exposition and explanation, for centuries; and, how perpetually it seems to us, as we watch the openings of the decades, and even of the centuries, as though this great outpouring of Divine revelation was lost, falling upon man but to be spoiled.

3. But it watereth the earth. Take this dust as it lies upon the highway and over the furrowed field, and within the dust is the making of everything that is beautiful and fruitful. But the dust does not laugh in flowers; it is capable and incapable. Lying within it are all the forces of life. All the mysterious magnificence of your personality on the physical side lies within the dust at your feet, and all flowers that bloom lie there in potentiality. As the rain and snow water the earth, which is at once characterized by capacity and yet unable to fulfil the possibilities that lie sleeping within its own being, it makes all Nature laugh with new beauty. So also the Word of God comes to men in whose nature are the potentialities but not the realizations. The Word of God falls upon the centuries, upon society, upon individuals, and we thought it touched them but to be spoiled and soiled and pass, but we watched and we found that by its falling the soil became productive. There is in every human being the capacity for Deity. There arc in every human life the potentialities of the highest and the noblest and the best.

4. The prophet now adds a further truth concerning these elements in the statement, making it bring forth. After the rain and the snow the dull russet ground becomes beautiful with emerald and opal and ruby and diamond, and you know that when Gods rain and snow touch the dust it makes the dust bring forth. So with the Word of God. The Word of God makes the dormant forces in man move to fulfilment. All men that have ever realized the possibilities of their own life have done so in response to some part of the Word of God, to the Word spoken, to the Word written, to the Word lived.

5. Yet another word that I have taken separately, because I think it really is separate. It is a stronger word than the former--maketh it bring forth, and bud. I feel inclined to use here the literal Hebrew word, and sprout. That is to say, the rain and the snow not merely touch the dust into generation, but come again in the grass, the flowers, the fruitage. And the Word of God has come from Him to touch the failure of human life, and it has been returning to Him laughing with the harvest of ransomed souls. The Word was incarnate in the Christ supremely, and in a less and different degree, but nevertheless as truly, Gods Word has been re-incarnate in human lives in all the passing centuries.

6. Yet that is not all. That it may give seed to the sower. What is this harvest for? You say for the sustenance of human life. That is not the first thing. Bread to the eater is a secondary thing. Bread to the eater is provision for the toiler that he may continue his sowing and reap his harvests; but the first tiling is that, in the new form in which the rain and snow return to God, there is always found the potentiality of propagation waiting for new showers and new transmutations and new harvests. So with the Word of God. The Word of God taking hold of human life, changing it, becoming incarnate in it, communicates propagative power; it makes a centre from which the seed may be scattered still further afield, and from one life re-made and sanctified by the Word of God there must go forth the seed that will affect yet other fields, and stretch out into great lines of blessed harvest.

7. And bread to the eater. The man that ploughed and sowed and reaped feeds. The Word of God is also the bread of life to the toiler.

II. AS TO THE GREAT PRINCIPLES REVEALED. The symbolism of this great prophetic Word teaches--

1. That the Word of God is purposeful. The Word of Cedis not given to be possessed; it is given that it may possess.

2. That the Word of God is powerful. It shall not return to Him void. And why not? Because it never comes void from Him. Every word of God thrills with fruitfulness. If we but know how to receive it and how to respond, then it shall return to Him not void, but fruitful, in lives changed, re-moulded, re-fashioned, sanctified.

3. That the Word of God is prosperous. The word accomplish means it does something, it makes something, it realizes something; and the Hebrew word prosper literally means it pushes forward. It is a great dynamic force.

III. AS TO THE RESPONSIBILITIES ENTAILED. Rain and snow might fall upon the earth a long time and there be no harvest unless the earth is prepared. The rain and snow may fall in all their prodigal munificence and magnificence upon the earth, and there will be no harvest unless the seed is sown. And rain and snow may fall and make the earth laugh with harvest, if the earth be ready and the seed be sown, and yet men get no benefit unless the bread be eaten. Here, then, are three things at least that I would say: The earth must be prepared; take heed how ye hear. The seed must be sown; preach the Word. The bread must be eaten; let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.

The laws of grace as effectual as the laws of nature

I. THE LAWS OF NATURE ARE EFFECTUAL. For as the rain, etc.

1. Rain and snow are heaven sent agents.

2. They effectually answer their purpose.

3. Their beneficent results.

(1) Earthly beauty. Maketh it bring forth and bud.

(2) Husbandman supplied. Giveth seed to the sower.

(3) The citizen fed. Bread to the eater.

(4) Processes always repeated.

II. THE LAWS OF CHRISTIANITY ARE AS EFFECTUAL AS THE LAWS OF NATURE. So shall My Word be, etc.

1. The Divine origin of Christianity. My Word. Out of My mouth.

2. Christianity will not be defeated. Shall not return unto Me void.

3. Christianity will ultimately accomplish Gods will and pleasure. Shall accomplish that which I please.

4. Christianity shall produce its Divinely intended results. Shall prosper in the thing whereto! sent it.

5. As in nature, the process slow but certain. (W. Unsworth.)

Divine grace and human responsibility

1. Repeatedly has one come across good people making out, to their own satisfaction and comfort, that the non-return of Gods Word to Him void just means that, when it does not soften and save it hardens, convicts, and condemns a man. And they think that dire result is the accomplishment of Gods pleasure--is prosperity in the thing whereto He has sent His Word. It is true, of course, that where Gods Word toes mot save, it condemns. But this is not the truth of these two verses. There is to reference in them to Gods sovereignty as bent upon getting something or other out f the work of His Word; or to alternative purposes of His in sending it; or to some unknown, mysterious will of His that is served by the apparent or actual failure of His revealed will; or, indeed, to any judicial, punitive purpose or after-thought of his that comes into operation when His first and gracious purpose proves abortive he verses contain no warning to impenitent sinners, but an encouragement to doubting believers in front of promises, like those in this, chapter, which seem almost too good to be true. They do not set forth Gods sovereign purpose in sending His Word as other than a sovereignly gracious purpose, and always gracious. They give a definite assurance, enforced and illustrated by the rain and the snow in heaven, of Gods kindness, of His power to make good His gracious Word, of faithfulness to His beneficent promises. The similitude of the fertilizing, fruit producing snow and rain, and the statement of Isa_55:12-13, forbid other than a gracious purpose in Gods sending His Word. When, therefore, it is asserted that His Word shall not return to Him void, all that is meant is that this gracious purpose shall be affected, by His Word, before it goes back to Him. It does not tail. There is no lack of life, virtue, or grace in it. As regards its saving purpose, it never does return to Him void.

2. But how? Now, here we come to the true causes of the failure of Gods Word to produce its legitimate and Divinely intended results, where it happens to fail. Just as the rain and the snow may, in some cases and under some conditions, very exceptional and mostly incidental, become a curse and not a blessing, so may Gods Word fail to save men and only harden and condemn them. Men may be condemned in spite of Christs coming to save the world. Men may bring upon themselves the wrath to which God did not appoint them. If so, it is in every case because Gods purpose was resisted or thwarted; or the conditions of its fulfilment dependent on men were not complied with. The failure is not owing to Gods pleasure that it should occur. It is an indirect consequence of His purpose, for which men alone are responsible. For, in the ease of the rain and snow, Gods purpose is realized only as men comply with the fitting and necessary conditions of using these aright. The rain and snow from heaven must be met by suitable conditions on earth by mans contribution of active preparation, careful husbandry, and seasonable watchfulness and diligence. Rain will not make sea-sand fertile. Rain will not make seed grow even in rich soil where no seed is sown, or where the seed, if sown, may be choked by weeds. There will be no seed sown, or And so one can to the sower who sows none; no bread to the cater who eats none see that where Gods Word fails to effect His purpose of grace, it is simply and solely from causes for which man is responsible. It does not work mechanically, by lifeless necessity, regardless of mans freedom and mans contribution to its success. Gods Word fails, wherever it does fail, just because men do not comply with the simple, ordinary, commonplace, but essential conditions of spiritual husbandry. (A. Warrack, M. A.)

The efficacy of the Divine Word

The thoughts of God have been shown to be high above mens thoughts. Now He indicates that His words, what ever may appear to the contrary, are efficacious with a like Divine efficacy.

1. It is to be received as an encouragement. It is not given as an explanation or justification for the want of results. It is meant to give new heart to the messenger who fancies his words are falling fruitless and all his efforts proving vain before the inert, immovable mass of sin and evil in the world. Most who have essayed to be messengers of God have been conscious of the sense of failure at times, and this thought would be fitted to buoy them up.

2. It declares the fact that Gods Word is never altogether a failure. It may seem to our eyes to be producing no result. It works secretly but certainly. The law of its working is the law of working with all seeds, at first slow and secret and unseen. Who does not believe that, although unseen, the seed is still duly germinating? Even the words of Christ did not prove uniformly successful with His hearers, but in the end how like the seed, has been their great and ever-increasing influence!

3. It gives the correct idea of preaching. Preaching should be the uttering of a word of God. It rebukes the notion that preaching in the sense of speaking our words about God is useful or effectual. This is what the scribes and Pharisees did. This is what happens always in the age of cold dogmatism, when men do not forthtell what they have felt of God in their own souls, but substitute explanations, traditions, and views about the truth that make it powerless.

4. It tells us of the never-failing benefit of public worship. Men say that such and such preachers are not worth hearing. But this reminds us that in every service there is the Word of God declared. Even if prayers be slovenly, praises be harsh, and sermons be dull, and the occupant of pulpit unworthy, yet we have a sure word of prophecy to rest upon, It shall not return to Me void. (J. Robertson.)

The law of growth

I. THE UNIFORM ACTION OF LAW. The rain returneth not thither, void, without having effected the purpose for which it came. How is it that farmers are willing to put forth the labour of a whole year in order that they may have a gathering in at harvest-time? How is it that during the winter, and the spring, and the summer, they labour so hopefully, and wait so patiently! Because they know that the principles on which God carries on the processes of the material world are uniform and constant. So we conclude it is in the domain of spirit. There is uniform action of law. Notice this fact--

1. In our own nature. Effects always follow causes in our life; actions always produce effects.

2. In relation to God. This is but one expression of the truth that He is faithful.

(1) His purposes will surely be fulfilled. His ways are not as our ways.

(2) His Word is powerful; it cannot be void.

(3) His promises are sure.

II. THE COMBINATION OF FORCES. The harvest which whitens the fields has not been produced by the action of one cause or process only. There have been mechanical action, physical action, chemical action, vital action. The germ of life in the seed has been stimulated by heat, quickened by rain, fed by minerals, tended by man. Many unlikely things, too, have contributed to the result. The long, cold winter caused the land to lie dead; but that was a necessary preparation for the activity of spring. Storms and tempests beat upon the ground, snows in winter covered it as with a pall; but these were necessary in their place and at their time. The changes in the atmosphere, the variations in the temperature, the rest and coolness of night after the heat and glare of day, all helped to swell the grain, to draw forth the blade, to fill the ear. The processes of nature arc carried on by the combination of numberless causes, many of thence small and perhaps insignificant in themselves; and by the intermingling of various laws in almost infinite variety. So in our inner lives we find this fact, that many causes combine to produce results. Life is made up of an infinite combination of forces.

1. God has bestowed upon us many gifts. To one He has given quickness of perception; to another, clearness of reasoning powers; to another, strength of will; to another, power of invention; and so on. But these are not the only gifts He has bestowed upon each: and it is not by the use alone of one particular power that life is to be carried on. It is by the due combination of all. So in spiritual things, it is not by faith, alone, or by hope alone, or by love alone, or by endurance alone, or by reading Gods Word alone, or attending the means of grace alone, that our souls are to grow, that our characters are to be moulded. And sometimes the things which go to the moulding of our characters seem to us strange: the snows of winter sorrows settle round our hearts; the storms of difficulty and trial beat down upon us. We do not see how these can be necessary. But God sees, and He combines all causes, that He may lead to the best result.

2. So also it is with temptation. Hardly any sin is presented to us, or presents itself to us, in its naked reality. It comes clothed often in garments, if not of seeming righteousness, at least of negative purity. No temptation comes isolated; but mixed motives move us. We are, as it were, not so much in danger of being overwhelmed in a river, as of being beaten upon by successive drops of rain.

3. The possibility of usefulness comes to us not in one great offer, but a constant succession of small opportunities.

III. EFFECTS ARE SLOWLY ATTAINED TO. Not all at once, not in a few moments, do the operations of nature effect their results. So it is in the working of life. There are no sudden effects.

1. Growth in grace should be our daily aim.

2. Growth in knowledge, too, is our privilege, not only of outward things, of the mysteries of creation, of the history of the past or the work of the present; but of Gods Word.

3. Growth in strength may also be ours. The muscle that is used grows stronger by use. The spirit that exerts itself in the things of God, by Gods blessing gains strength therein. (J. S. Shields, D. D.)

Analogy of the natural and the spiritual

I. THE ANALOGY OF NATURE TEACHES US THAT WHEN GOD CREATES A NEED IN HIS CREATURES, HE MAKES ARRANGEMENTS TO SUPPLY THAT NEED. Bread to the eater. Our bodies are so constituted as to need food. He who has so made them, has also arranged that the food shall be supplied. What about the souls needs? God has so created it that it needs a food which the constitution and course of nature cannot give. It looks beyond the natural, and craves for the supernatural. We long for knowledge of things spiritual; for guidance and comfort in daily life; for a hope beyond the grave; for a sphere less trammelled by limitations and temptations. We feel, even the most careless, that sin is a burden which weakens and defiles and condemns. Has the great Architect and Designer made no provision for such wants as these? Yes. As it is in His workings in creation, so in the spiritual sphere: So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth. Gods Word he sent forth to give the knowledge of Himself. It tells of the living Bread which alone can satisfy the souls need. It comes direct from God Himself. Written down by man, it is applied to the heart by God the Holy Spirit. Notice, therefore--

1. Its absolute truth. It is not a series of speculations, or philosophizings, or aspirations; guesses of good or wise men, which may or may not be perfectly accurate. It is the Word of truth.

2. Its binding authority. It is the Word of a King.

3. Its unchanging, faithfulness. It is ever reliable. Its promises, are always yea and amen in. Christ Jesus. They are bank notes for which there is always a reserve of gold in the treasuries of heaven.

4. Its unutterable blessing. It tells of full comfort for the sorrowing; perfect rest for the weary; abiding peace for the distressed. Never grateful showers fell with greater refreshment on the parched and thirsty fields than the dew of Gods Word on the weary and longing hearts of men. How important that we should receive that Word, obey its commands, rest on its promises, take heed to its warnings!

II. THE ANALOGY OF NATURE TEACHES US THAT WE MAY CO-OPERATE WITH GOD IN THE WORK OF ENLIGHTENING MANKIND. The harvest-fields supply not only bread to the eater, but seed to the sower. The grain is not merely food--it is seed. Each contains the embryo of a plant. Placed in proper environment at the right time, that little life will cause movement amongst its surroundings, will weave a shoot, a blade, and an ear full of corn. Next years harvest will not be gained by a direct creation of God, but by a due use of the grain of this. This in-gathering contains the promise and power of future crops; it not only will satisfy present needs, but it has an expansive, and extensive, and far-reaching possibility. So it is in the kingdom of grace.

1. The Christians life should be extensive as well as intensive. He receives, not only that he may gain benefit, but that he may help others.

2. The effects of truth are germinant as well as satisfying.

3. The rule of work prevails in the spiritual as well as the natural harvest-fields. Because the grain is seed, the work of the husbandman becomes possible. If the life were not there, the labour of the year would be in vain. Because the grain is seed, the work of the husbandman is obligatory. It is Gods rule that part of this harvest should be used for the next. It is Gods command that man should co-operate in this great plan. It is also mans interest to do so. The produce of the ground is the fundamental and dominating source of wealth. So it is in spiritual things. Think of the possibilities of the Christian life. Think of the obligatory nature of Christian service. We may even speak of the analogy of our own interest. (J. S. Shields, D. D.)

The rain and, the Word

The Gospel is compared to rain and snow

I. IN ITS ORIGIN. From heaven. All truth is Divine.

II. IN ITS OPERATION. Watereth the earth. The Gospel changes the human heart and promotes and nourishes all that is good.

III. IN ITS BENEFITS. That it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. The Gospel gives instruction, comfort, and strength to men, and brings forth a harvest of fruit for God.

IV. IN ITS FINAL RESULTS. It shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (Homilist.)

Christianity

These words suggest several ideas concerning Christianity.

I. VARIETY. It is compared to the rain and the snow.

1. How varied in form. The rain comes down softly and gently, and sometimes in torrents; and the snow, too, has a variety of form.

2. How varied in distribution! How much falls on oceans, how much on sands and desert wastes and rocks, as well as on fertile soils! It is so with Christianity. As the Word of God, its forms are varied, it comes in history, poetry, philosophy, precept, example, menaces, and promises. How varied in distribution! It falls on every class of mankind, the literate and the illiterate, the hardened, the tender, the rich, the poor, etc.

II. PRECIOUSNESS. How inestimably valuable the rain and snow to nature. How precious Christianity! It is the water of life, etc.

III. DIVINITY. The rain cometh down and the snow from heaven. It is manifestly from above. So is Christianity. It is, says God, My Word that goeth forth out of My mouth. The Divinity of Christianity is clear from its congruity with the facts of universal history, the souls a priori notions of a God, the spiritual intuitions and longings of mankind, and the deep moral wants of the world. It is, indeed, the Word of God.

IV. INEVITABLENESS. It shall not return unto Me void. Not a drop of rain or a flake of snow is wasted. It may be swallowed up in the desert, but it is not lost. Every drop has a mission, and its mission will be fulfilled.

1. God in giving Christianity to the world had a purpose.

2. That purpose will be inevitably accomplished. If God has made a promise to the world and that purpose is not accomplished, it must be for one of three reasons: either--

(1) He was insincere when He made it; or

(2) He subsequently changed His mind; or

(3) difficulties arose in the future, that baffled Him, which He never anticipated. All these are inadmissible, so that His Word shall not return unto Him void. (Homilist.)

The errand of the Word

Upon what errand has God sent forth His Word? Ten thousand thousand are its tongues, and yet its work is one. It publishes salvation with all its tongues. For if it speak to the mourner, it would save him from the wasting effects of his grief; and if it speak to the wanderer, it would save him from the further loss of his time, and the final loss of himself, in the wrong paths on which he has entered: and if it speak to the busy, it would save them from spending labour on that which satisfieth not. This is the lesson He would have sink into the heart of dull unbelieving man as the rain does into the earth, that the heavenly errands of Nature are not more sure of success than the heavenly errands of Grace; that the God of husbandry is even more the God of the husbandman; that, if water nourishes the earth, much more truth nourishes the soul: that if Gods bidding is done by the winds that carry about the clouds to water the world, so also is it done--as surely, and in a higher way--by the Spirit that brings and dispenses to us the words of holy instruction and comfort. (T. T. Lynch.)

The return of Gods Word

I. THE CERTAINTY. The great purpose of God cannot fail.

II. THE MANNER. But, then, we read of messengers who went to the husbandmen that kept Gods vineyard, and returned to Him empty-handed. Why have ye not brought the fruit of the vineyard? There was no fruit, Lord, to bring. They have wasted the hours of labour, or consumed Thy fruit in their own revels. This is quite according to Gods will--that men should be free to taste and try what manner of god folly is, what manner of reward sin can offer. Gods messengers go once, twice, seven times. And, if needed, the Word goes forth to banish the husbandmen from the vineyard. The Word returns to God in many ways. It yields, by its operation, proofs that His charge against men is true; it yields fruits of patience in the souls of those who carry for God the rejected message; it produces, by the results of its rejection, the acknowledgment that it ought to have been accepted, and the disposition to accept it if it be again offered. If His word of mercy, on which men might rely, is not received by them, then His word of punishment, for which the rejected word has opened the way, goes forth into act; and this, by its action, may in turn prepare the way for another word of mercy, which is ready to go forth on its errand. So Gods Word is always fruitful, however unfruitful we may be.

III. THE MEASURE. In one sense all Gods words are effective; that is to say, none shall be without its use, none without service rendered in illustration of His power and character. But some possible effects may not result, others coming in their stead; the conversion of a sinner,, for instance, may not now result, but, in its place, there may be a display of Gods forbearance toward him. And so a hundredfold may not now be the measure of success, but only sixtyfold or thirty. In measure, as in manner, Gods always powerful Word returns to Him variously.

IV. THE TIME. Our time is short, and Gods time long. Therefore many of the returns His Word shall make Him, returns in the abundance and glory of which we too are interested, are of necessity, and most wisely, delayed. (T. T. Lynch.)

The Word of God likened to rain

I. IN REGARD TO ITS ORIGIN.

II. FROM ITS ADAPTATION TO THE END WHICH IT IS INTENDED TO SERVE. The rain that descends from above softens and subdues the stubborn clod; it furnishes food for the whole vegetable kingdom, and thus also for the animal kingdom; it mollifies and warms the atmosphere--and as it is the means of dissipating those clouds of cold that intercept the genial rays of the sun, it is no less necessary for the progress and perfection of vegetation than the sun in all his glory. One of the finest objects in nature is the appearance which the earth presents after having been saturated with rain, when warmed and invigorated by the rays of the sun; and accordingly the Messiah is thus represented, He shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun ariseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by the clear shining after the rain. The Word of God is no less fitted for all those purposes of enlightening, convincing, converting, and comforting for which it is sent.

III. WITH REGARD TO THE MANNER OF ITS OPERATION. The falling of the rain from the clouds in small drops is a remarkable instance of the wisdom of Him who is perfect in knowledge. When, at any time, as in the case of storms, it descends in torrents, this truth appears to us more obvious, as then, instead of refreshing the vegetable tribes, it carries desolation in its train. Such, in general, is the manner in which the Word operates upon the heart of man. The Spirit of God worketh where, and when, and how He pleaseth, by the Word generally, yet not always--sometimes by alarming dispensations of providence, and sometimes by the voice of conscience speaking within us. The Word of God is the great means which He employs for the salvation of sinners; the rain is the great means which He employs for the fructifying the earth: in the ordinary course of providence, the one acts in a gradual imperceptible manner; in the ordinary course of His grace, this is the way in which the other operates.

IV. THE WORD IS LIKENED TO RAIN IS THIS RESPECT--It watereth the earth, and maketh it to bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater. The great benefits that flow to the people of God from the Word, are set forth under the figures of bread to the cater, and seed to the sower; or, in other words, present support and future provision.

V. THE WORD MAY BE LIKENED TO RAIN, WITH REGARD TO THE CERTAINTY OF ITS PRODUCING THE INTENDED EFFECT.

VI. THE WORD MAY BE LIKENED TO RAIN, INASMUCH AS ITS EFFICACY DEPENDS ENTIRELY UPON THE DIVINE BLESSING.

VII. THE WORD MAY RE LIKENED TO RAIN, INASMUCH AS WHILE THE EFFICACY IN BOTH CASES DEPENDS UPON THE BLESSING OF GOD, IN NEITHER CASE IS THIS BLESSING TO BE EXPECTED TO THE EXCLUSION OF OUR ENDEAVOURS. (C. Adie, D. D.)

The certain success of evangelistic labour

We argue the certainty of success in evangelistic labour.

I. FROM THE NATURE OF DIVINE TRUTH. There is something in the quality and characteristics of the doctrine which we are commanded to preach to every creature, that promises and prophesies a triumph. The Word of God is both living and quickening. This is implied in the figure which the prophet Isaiah employs in the text. This is the declaration of God Himself, who understands the intrinsic nature of His own revelation; and by it teaches us that there is no greater adaptedness in moisture to fructify the ground, and germinate a corn of wheat, than there is in Biblical doctrine to renew and convert a human soul. For the truth which the evangelist scatters upon the printed page, or teaches from his own lips, is superhuman. In this fact, there is great encouragement to diligence and perseverance, upon the part of every disciple of Christ, to proclaim Divine truth in every form and manner possible. Revealed truth is immortal. It can never perish. Not only is Divine truth immortal in its nature, but it can never be expelled from the mind. Teach a child or a man, for example, the true Biblical doctrine of sin; fix it in his mind that God abhors wickedness, and will punish it everlastingly, and you have imparted something to him which he can never get rid of. And on the other side of revelation, all this is equally true. The peace-speaking promises of mercy, the doctrine of the Divine pity, of the forgiveness of sins and the preparation for eternal life--all this portion of Divine truth when once imparted is never again expelled. Even if, owing to the inveteracy of vice, or the torpidity of the conscience, or the obstinacy of the proud heart, the soul goes into the presence of God unforgiven, still the truths of the Gospel will be a portion of the souls knowledge through all eternity; the evidence of what it might have secured, and the index of what it has lost.

II. FROM THE FACT THAT GOD FEELS A SPECIAL INTEREST IN HIS OWN WORD. The Scriptures warrant us in asserting that God is more profoundly concerned for the success of that body of truth which He has revealed to mankind in the Scriptures, than for the spread and influence of all other ideas and truths whatsoever. This is the only species of truth which He personally watches over, and accompanies with a Divine influence. The wisdom of this world is foolishness with Him. My Word, says God, 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. Here is personal interest, and personal supervision. You may proclaim all your days your own ideas, or those of your fellow-men, but you will say with Grotius, at the close of a long and industrious career which had by no means been exclusively devoted to humanistic learning, I have spent my life in laboriously doing nothing.

III. FROM THE ACTUAL INSTANCES OF SUCCESS FURNISHED BY THE ANNALS OF SUCH LABOUR. Christianity must be from God, argued Justin Martyr and Tertullian, because it makes the voluptuous man chaste, the avaricious man liberal, the man of cursing a man of prayer, the implacable enemy a forgiving friend, converts wrath into gentleness, debauchery into temperance, and vice of manifold form into manifold virtue. The fruits evince the reality, and the quality of the tree. We find what we may call the realism of Christianity in the evangelizing operations of the Church. The power of Biblical truth even when not proclaimed by the voice of the evangelist is continually receiving demonstration from this same source. The records of Bible and Tract Societies are full of instances in which the bare text of Scripture led to the conversion of a human soul. There is no surer evidence that the truths of the Gospel are destined to prevail, than the fact that they do prevail. From the subject as thus discussed, we infer the duty of great courage, and confidence, in the work of evangelizing men. (G. T.Shedd, D. D.)

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

Isa 55:10-11. For as the rain cometh down — To water and refresh the earth, and render it fruitful; and the snow from heaven — Which, in its season, contributes to the fertility of the earth, as well as the rain; and returneth not thither — Namely, without effect, or immediately: it is not drawn up again as soon as it comes down, but abides for a convenient time upon the earth, until it do that work for which it is sent. That it may give seed and bread, &c. — That it may bring forth store of bread-corn, both for men’s present supplies, and for seed for the next year. So shall my word be — My promises concerning the pardon of the greatest sinners, and the redemption and salvation of mankind. It shall not return unto me void — Without success. It is an allusion to an ambassador who returns without despatching the business for which he was sent. It shall accomplish that which I please — It shall have the desired effect; and it shall prosper, &c. — It shall certainly be fulfilled in the manner before expressed.

Isa 55:12-13 For, or therefore: you shall go out with joy — Ye shall be released from your bondage, because God hath promised, and will effect it. He alludes to their going out of Egypt, or to their release from Babylon, which deliverances were emblematical of the redemption of mankind, by Christ, from the power of sin and Satan. And be led forth — Or led onward, as Bishop Lowth renders תובלון, be conducted by the gracious and powerful presence of God, as the Israelites were in the wilderness; in peace — Safely and triumphantly, without fear of being retaken and brought back into slavery by your enemies. The mountains and the hills shall break forth, &c. — There shall be a great and general rejoicing at your deliverance. For “these are highly poetical images, to express a happy state, attended with joy and exultation.” Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree — “These likewise are general poetical images, expressing a great and happy change for the better: the wilderness turned into a paradise, Lebanon into Carmel; the desert of the Gentiles watered with the heavenly snow and rain, which fail not to have their due effect, and becoming fruitful in piety and righteousness: or, as the Chaldee gives the moral sense of the emblem, ‘instead of the wicked shall arise the just, and instead of sinners, such as fear to sin.’” — Bishop Lowth. In other words, The church shall be delivered from pernicious men and things, and replenished with sincere and serious believers, and with all sorts of divine graces and blessings. And it shall be to the Lord for a name — This wonderful change shall bring much honour to that God by whom it is wrought. For an everlasting sign — For a monument, or evident and glorious token of God’s infinite power, faithfulness, and love to his people, unto all succeeding generations; that shall not be cut off — Which shall never be abolished, but shall always live and flourish in the minds and mouths of men.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

THE ERRAND OF THE WORD

Isa_55:10-11. For as the rain cometh down, &c.

Upon what errand has God sent forth His Word? It publishes “salvation” with all its tongues. It has tidings for us of great truth; and the fault will be ours if the tidings be not also of great joy. These words of the prophet are the more powerful because they are so pleasant. They have the charm and vigour of Nature in them. Every one cares about rain, and believes in it. Every one does not care about truth, and believe in that. The prophet takes that in which we believe most to help our faith in that in which we believe less. And this is the lesson he would have sink into the heart of dull unbelieving man as the rain does into the earth, that the heavenly errands of Nature are not more sure of success than the heavenly errands of Grace; that the God of husbandry is even more the God of the husbandman; that, if water nourishes the earth, much more truth nourishes the soul; that if God’s bidding is done by the winds that carry about the clouds to water the world, so also is it done—as surely, and in a higher way—by the Spirit that brings and dispenses to us the words of holy instruction and comfort.

Let us speak further—

I. OF THE WORD. God has His word of instruction and kindness for particular men at particular times; but His great general word of assurance is this, “I am thy God and Saviour, and all things round thee are subject to Me: trust Me and it shall be well with thee.” Many minds besides the mind of God have to do with the affairs of the world; but His is supreme. This word of God, by which the world is ruled, is a word that has been uttered, that is uttered, that will be uttered. He settled at first the order of the outward heaven and earth (Psa_33:9). He settled at first the order of the inward heaven and earth; but He made souls free, and, in His wise good will, subjected them to trial amid scenes of disorder and distress. And His word to them is one of direction, and of mercy, and of warning. It is specially a word inspiring humble spiritual trust in Himself, as the Source of all goodness, the Pardoner of iniquity. And it is a word which cheers, and leads us on day by day, with hope of comforts as we journey, and of a good end at last (Isa_55:12). It is also a word of promise. And he who feels the spirit of hope opening within him an entrance into a better mind, access to the wise healing truth, has not only the promise of deliverance, but real deliverance, in part, at once; and the prophetic Word shall have for him its entire fulfilment.

II. OF THE RETURNS MADE TO GOD BY HIS WORD.—

1. Of the certainty. The great purpose of God cannot fail. What evidence is there in Nature of lacking strength? It shows no sign of age, palsy, or consumption. Amid all its changes and its terrors, there is no rest from action. Shall God’s word, then, rest from its activity? shall His perfect Word fail?

2. Of the manner. The Word returns to God in many ways. It yields, by its operation, proofs that His charge against men is true. It yields fruits of patience in the souls of those who carry for God the rejected message; it produces, by the results of its rejection, the acknowledgment that it ought to have been accepted. The issue of events must be according to God’s mind. So God’s word is always fruitful, however unfruitful we may be. It has many manner of effects, but is never without effect. For we must all come to render to the Truth our account, though perhaps we will not come to receive from Truth our freedom and its promise.

3. Of the measure. God’s always powerful Word returns to Him variously. Given to us for our use, and given with its certain promise, let us seek to make it profitable to ourselves, honourable to Him in an increasing measure.

4. Of the time. And let us remember that our time is short, and God’s time long. Our time is short; we must then hear the Word and do it promptly. God’s time is long; and therefore many of the returns His Word shall make Him are of necessity, and most wisely, delayed. No one of us is so mad as to set at naught Nature’s power: no one of us so foolish as to expect to do any outward action, without Nature’s help: and no one of us so weak and despondent but that sometimes we have both confronted and overcome Nature’s hindrance. Shall we, then, set at nought the Word of God, and expect success without it? or fear to overcome, by it said, that world of which it is the real ruler?—Thomas T. Lynch; Sermons for my Curates, pp. 253–271.

These words stand in connection with the gracious invitation addressed to sinners in Isa_55:6-7. The invitation is followed by inducements. The first is that the search for God will be successful—repentance will be followed by mercy. The second is drawn from the Divine magnanimity (Isa_55:8-9). The third is the definiteness of the Divine intention with respect to this. This is expressed in our text.

Two ideas are contained in it—

I. THAT IT IS INTENDED TO ACCOMPLISH A DEFINITE END.

Observe the imagery of the text. Rain and snow fall from heaven. They do not return thither. They have a mission. They water the earth. They help its fruitfulness. They make it bring forth and bud. It furnishes the present beauty and plenty. It provides future beauty and plenty. For it gives seed to the sower. The seed produces the harvest. From the harvest bread is produced, which is the staff of life. Thus its mission is the sustentation of man.

The Word of God spoken and written, the Gospel of Christ is compared to this. It is like the rain and the snow. It has a mission. Every word of God has a purpose and a destination in connection with the salvation of man. It aims to convert the individual sinner. The truth made known in the Gospel is the instrument of this. It aims to convert the world. If the conversion of individuals proceeds in a ratio exceeding that of the increase of population, the work of conversion will in due time overtake the population. And every individual converted becomes an agent for the conversion of others. Like the self-perpetuating power of nature, so in the operation of God’s grace the man is converted, not only that he may enjoy his own salvation, but that he may be the means of salvation to others. An inward prompting impels him to seek that result. The Word of God in the heart is not only thus bread to the eater, but seed to the sower.

II. THAT THE END FOR WHICH IT IS GIVEN WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED.

1. Provision is made for the publication of the Gospel. Christ made provision when on earth by means of the few whom He had converted by His own ministry. The Gospel is in its nature diffusive. It produces an identity of feeling, principle, and aim with Christ. Love to God and man have been displaced by sin. The Gospel, when received into the heart, replaces these principles. In the introduction of these principles to the heart every provision is made for the publication of the Gospel. They animate some to preach, others to give liberally of their substance. They kindle zeal. They incite to labour, patience, diligence in this great work.

2. The Gospel is recommended with sufficient authority. From the constitution of our minds we cannot assent to any truth until we perceive it to be truth. Nor can we withhold our assent to anything we perceive to be truth. Therefore it is not sufficient that the Gospel be merely preached; it must also be attended with sufficient evidence of its truth. It brings various kinds of evidence,—Miracles—Prophecy—Experience,—a kind of evidence possessed by persons who have neither time nor ability to examine the other kinds. It is the power of the truth upon the heart and life.

3. The publication of the Gospel is accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit. Holy beings would appreciate the evidence. But man is not holy, he is influenced by improper feelings and motives. Therefore the Spirit of God is poured down from on high. The means we have mentioned are channels through which the Divine influence flows. God works by means. We may resist the moral means, but the direct power of the Holy Spirit carries all before it. The husbandman sows the seed, and it is adapted to the production of the harvest Yet influences are necessary which are beyond the command of the husbandman. There must be storm, and lightning, and sunshine. So when all suitable means are employed, there must still be the power of the Holy Spirit.

4. The saving effect of the Gospel is distinctly predicted. The text expressly says it shall accomplish its intended end. Study on this subject the prophecies of the Old Testament and the words of Christ. Then think of the future of the world. Has it accomplished its saving end in you?

What God has purposed He will perform. Let us then—

1. Work. Enlist in the army. Engage in the service. All do something.

2. Pray.

3. The world’s glory has not reached its fulness. That will be when Christ reigns universally. The Gospel is as fresh and vigorous as ever for its appointed work.—J. Rawlinson.

The WORD OF GOD LIKENED TO THE RAIN AND SNOW.

Observe the analogy in the kingdoms of nature and grace, between the rain and snow, and the Divine Word. We see the resemblance—

I. In the origin of both. The rain, although naturally produced, is yet obviously the work and gift of God. He prepareth it; storeth it up; bears it on the wings of the wind, and freely pours it upon the earth. So also the word of life is His own production. He inspired the minds of the writers, &c.

II. In the mode of communicating both, He giveth the rain—

1. At peculiar seasons—periods when its bestowment is desirable and necessary. So God gave His Word, during the various seasons of the world’s history, in divers manners, and at various periods—to the fathers by the prophets, &c. Just as God exercises His infinite skill in giving rain from heaven, so also did He give the words of truth and salvation to the world.

2. Abundantly. So also He has fully revealed His will in His holy Word. Enough for all the purposes of personal piety, usefulness, &c. (2Ti_3:16).

3. Discriminately. The rain is not given to all countries in like manner, as to seasons, abundance, &c. So with respect to His Word, He deposited it originally with the seed of Abraham. To them pertained His oracles. They had God’s Word while the rest of the nations were in darkness. So it is even yet. As a nation we have been greatly favoured. But other countries are only now receiving in their own tongues the wonderful testimonies of God’s Word.

4. Gratuitously. So also His Word is His free gift to man.

III. In the design of both. The rain is sent to make the earth fruitful, and cause it to bring forth and bud.

1. The earth, like the heart of man, without this would be unfruitful. The earth requires rain, the heart of man requires the Word of God, and is dark and barren without it. Nothing will answer as a substitute for rain, and nothing meets the exigencies of the soul but the Word of God.

2. The adaptation of both for the end contemplated. Rain softens and moistens the earth, and produces fruitfulness. The Word of God enlightens, &c. It is the instrumental means of regeneration and holiness. Wherever it is received it produces the most happy and delightful effects.

IV. In the results arising from both. The rain and snow answer the end for which they are sent. Thus God’s Word shall not be ineffectual. It shall accomplish God’s pleasure—produce fruit to the honour and glory of His name.

1. It shall make barren souls fruitful (1Co_6:9-11).

2. It shall increase the means of doing good. All converted persons are as seed-corn, they have been produced for the reproduction of others.

3. It shall reward the labourer (Php_4:1; 1Th_2:19).

4. It shall satisfy the author. God will be eternally glorified in the achievements of His Word. It will attain all God intended and expected from it.

Application: Do we bear fruit to the glory of God’s grace?—J. Burns, LL.D.: Sketches on Metaphors, &c., pp. 259–263.

In these words Isaiah means to trace a resemblance between these natural and spiritual influences—

I. IN THEIR DIVINE ORIGIN. (See p. 589.)

II. IN THE IMPORTANCE OF THEIR PRODUCE. What would this earth be without the rain and snow from heaven? What would this world be without the Gospel? But both come from God, and bring forth provision for both present and future needs; there is bread for the eater and seed for the sower. The Christian enjoys the blessings of the Gospel himself, and with delight conveys them to others.

III. IN THEIR MODE OF OPERATION. In both cases this is—

1. Gradual.

2. Mysterious.

3. According to the soil.

4. In accordance with human means. and exertions.

IV. IN THE CERTAINTY OF THEIR SUCCESS. This seems to be Isaiah’s principal, though not his only aim. Who will dare to say that the rain. falls anywhere to no purpose? Certainly the Gospel is never preached in vain.

1. Where it does not accomplish God’s designs of mercy, it leaves sinners without excuse in the day of judgment.

2. Where it does not save, it civilises; where it does not sanctify, it restrains. The social influences of a faithful minister can scarcely be over-rated.

3. Where the highest results are produced, they are often hidden. Not now, but “the day of Christ” is the appointed season for ministerial rejoicing (Php_2:16).

CONCLUSION.—

1. No man can listen to the preaching of the Gospel without being influenced for good or for evil (H. E. I., 2439–2442).

2. In this subject there is encouragement for God’s servants. Ministers should read this text whenever they are about to enter the pulpit.—William Jay: The British Pulpit, vol. iii., pp. 409–422.

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.

55:10-11 The Creator not only sends rain and snow but also his word (Hebrew dabar). In this context, dabar means his will or plan (see 14:24; 40:8). God’s written word, as an expression of God’s plan, accomplishes his purposes. God is effective in whatever he does (see 14:26-27; 46:10).

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

The hearts of men, once barren of spirituality, shall be made, by the outpouring of the Spirit under Messiah, to bear fruits of righteousness (Isa 5:6; Deu 32:2; Sa2 23:4; Psa 72:6).

snow--which covers plants from frost in winter; and, when melted in spring, waters the earth.

returneth not--void; as in Isa 55:11; it returns not in the same shape, or without "accomplishing" the desired end.

bud--germinate.

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

(10) For as the rain cometh down . . .—The verse includes well-nigh every element of the parables of agriculture. The “rain” and the “dew” are the gracious influences that prepare the heart; the “seed” is the Divine word, the “sower” is the Servant of the Lord, i.e., the Son of Man (Mat_13:37); the “bread” the fruits of holiness that in their turn sustain the life of others.

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

10, 11. This purpose of salvation is embodied in the word which goes forth from Jehovah’s mouth. The “word” is conceived as endowed with a self-fulfilling energy (see on ch. Isa_9:8); and its silent but irresistible efficacy is set forth by a beautiful comparison from nature. The same idea was expressed in ch. Isa_40:8.

as the rain cometh down &c.] The image is suggested by “the heavens” in Isa_55:9.

but watereth] Rather, without having watered &c.

seed to the sower and bread to the eater] Cf. 2Co_9:10.

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.

For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither,.... Rain and snow come down from the clouds in the heavens, and do not return again until they have done what they are sent to do, or have produced the following effects; otherwise they may be exhaled into vapours, as they often are, and drawn up again by the sun:

but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud; or, "inebriateth the earth" (n); soaks into it, and reaches the seed that is sown in it, and causes that to spring up, and rise into stalk and ear:

that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater; produce a sufficiency for food both for man and beast, and enough for seed to sow the ground with the following year.

(n) , Sept.; "sed inebriats" Pagninus, Junius & Tremellius; "quin imo inebriavit terram", Montanus.

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

For as the rain cometh down - The meaning of this verse and the following is plain. This refers evidently, as the whole passage does, to the times which should succeed the coming of the Messiah. The hearts of people by nature are what the earth would be without the rains of heaven - barren and sterile. But God says that his truth shall certainly accomplish an effect similar to that produced by descending showers. The rain never descends in vain. It makes the earth fertile, beautiful, and lovely. So would it be with his truth in the moral world. The comparison of truth with descending rain or dews is exceedingly beautiful, and occurs not unfrequently in the Bible. See Deu 32:2 -

My doctrine shall drop as the rain,

My speech shall distil as the dew,

As the small rain upon the tender herb,

And as the showers upon the grass.

Compare 2Sa 23:4; Psa 72:6; Isa 5:6; the note at Isa 44:3.

And the snow - This is a part of the emblem or symbol designed to denote the fertilizing effect of the truth of God. The snow, as well as the rain, accomplishes important purposes in rendering the earth fertile. It constitutes a covering that contributes to the warmth and preservation of plants and vegetation in the colder latitudes, and on the hills and mountains is accumulated in the winter months to fill the streams, or produce the overflowing of the rivers in the spring and the summer. This expression should not, however, be pressed ad unguem in the interpretation, as if it contained any special spiritual signification. It is a part of the general description of that which descends from heaven to render the earth fertile.

From heaven - From the clouds.

And returneth not thither - That is, not in the form in which they descend on the earth. They return not there as rain and snow. The main idea is, they do not return without accomplishing the effect which God intends.

And bud - Put forth its increase; causes it to sprout up, or germinate. The word ‘bud’ is applied rather to the small protuberance on the ends of limbs and branches, which contains the germ of the future leaf or flower. This word צמח tsâmach means rather “to germinate,” or to cause to vegetate in general. It is applied to the putting forth of vegetation. on the earth when the showers descend.

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

And the snow, which in its season contributes to the fruitfulness of the earth as well as the rain.

Returneth not thither, to wit, void, or without effect, as it is expressed in the next verse; or immediately; it is not drawn up again as soon as it is come down, but abides for a convenient time upon the earth, until it do that work for which it was sent.

That it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater; that it may bring forth store of bread corn, both for men’s present supplies, and for seed for the next year.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

10, 11. As the rain… the snow — By quick association of ideas, the mention of the heavens, in Isa_55:9, suggests the comparison here made. “Rain and snow” fall “from heaven” to water the earth, and so prepare it for its annual growths to feed the bodies of men and beasts. Just so, God’s word falls from his mouth as fertilizing, to produce fruits of righteousness among the millions of Israel and of outlying peoples; and it shall not be void. For every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God is bread. Deu_8:3.

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

As the rain... and the snow. The rain and the snow are God"s ministers, (Psa_148:8) and go forth from him, just as his word does. They have an appointed work to do, and do not return to him, whose ministers they are, until they have done it. It is best to translate, with Delitzsch and Mr. Cheyne, "As the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, except it hath watered the earth," etc. The writer is, apparently, aware, as the writer of Ecclesiastes is, that the water which falls from heaven in the shape of rain does return thither again in the shape of vapour. (see Ecc_1:7)

Vers. 10-13. The fruitfulness of sacred truth.

It may be said that the rain and the snow do, in fact, return to the heavens whence they came, drawn up by the sun as it shines on sea and lake, on stream and river, everywhere. But not until they have done the work for which they came, not until they have "accomplished that which God pleases," until they have prospered in the purpose for which he sent them; not until they have fertilized the soil, and made it bring forth its precious fruits. The vast amount of rainfall which the earth receives during every year renders incalculable service before it returns to the skies. So also does all the outpouring of Divine truth on the mind and heart of men. There may be times when the human spokesman may question this when he may have grave misgivings as to its utility, when it may seem unprofitable and vain. But we have the strong assurance that God"s Word "shall not return unto him void that the issue shall be one in which all surrounding nature may well take its part with jubilant acclaim (vers. 12, 13). The excellency of sacred truth will be seen if we regard

I OUR CONDITION IN ITS ABSENCE.

1. The unproductiveness of the human mind when thus untaught; the sad fact that men who are capable of the loftiest conceptions, the most ennobling convictions, the most elevating feelings and aspirations, live and die without cherishing any one of these, in blank and dreary ignorance.

2. The noxious growths which flourish: the errors, the superstitions, the dark and foul imaginations. which defile the mind in which they spring up, and those also on whom these are acting.

II THE BENIGNANT POWER WHICH ST EXERTS.

1. The outward transformations it works great and happy reformations in the conduct, the career, the condition of individual men, of families, and of nations.

2. The inward blessedness it confers peace, freedom, purity, love, joy, hope.

III ITS OCCASIONAL, APPARENT FRUITLESSNESS. Even as the rain and the snow often fall on rock and sand and sea without seeming to produce any beneficent result, so does the truth of God, as preached, or taught, or printed, often seem to be unavailing; and there is discouragement, despondency, even despair, in the heart of the Christian worker. But we look at,

IV ITS ACTUAL EFFICACY.

1. There is much of actual efficacy which we can discover of incidental result, bringing strength and sanctity to those whose benefit is not sought; of indirect result; of ultimate result, being "found after many days.

2. There is more which we take on trust. God has ways of using material things which long escaped our notice, and doubtless many ways which still elude our observation. Has he not ways of using our spiritual efforts, of turning them to account, so that one day we shall find that his own Word never returns to him void that it always prospers in the thing whereto it is sent? "He that goeth forth weeping... shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. C.

Vers. 10, 11. Change and permanence in God"s Word.

Dr. George Dana Boardman sees, in these verses, an unconscious anticipation of two great doctrines of modem science the doctrine of convertibility of energies, or correlation of forces; and the doctrine of conservation of energy, or indestructibility of force. "We are now taught that heat, light, electricity, magnetism, chemical affinity, etc., are modes of motion, and, as such, mutually interchangeable. And we are also taught that there is no evidence of any atom of matter having ever been annihilated. Disintegration is not annihilation.

I GOD"S WORD IS CAPABLE OF ENDLESS TRANSFORMATIONS. God"s truth, coming down like rain or snow from heaven, does not return to him void, but is transfigured into Christian character. Truth, like force, undergoes metamorphosis. For instance, the motion of enterprise glides into the heat of enthusiasm; the heat of enthusiasm into the light of influence; the light of influence into the magnetism of love, and so on. The history of Christianity itself, what is it but the history of the grace of God metamorphosed into various virtues?

II GOD"S WORD IS INDESTRUCTIBLE. "What though rain falls on barren ledges? Not a drop is lost; for the rain trickles down into rills, the rills grow into brooks, the brooks swell into rivers, the rivers broaden into the sea, and the sea forms the international exchange of the world"s commodities. What though snow mantles desolate deserts? Not a flake is a failure; for the snow melts, percolates the sands, feeds unseen springs, reemerges as the bearded wheat of autumn." We may hopefully engage in the teaching and preaching of God"s Word; for not one lesson can be really lost. R.T.

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

The snow - Which in its season contributes to the fruitfulness of the earth. Returneth not - Without effect. And bread - That it may bring forth store of bread-corn, both for mens present supplies, and for seed for the next year.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

This is set forth under a figure drawn from the rain and the snow. "For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, till it has moistened the earth, and fertilized it, and made it green, and offered seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will my word be which goeth forth out of my mouth: it will not return to me fruitless, till it has accomplished that which I willed, and prosperously carried out that for which I sent it." The rain and snow come down from the sky, and return not thither till they have .... The perfects after אם כּי are all to be understood as such (Ewald, 356, a). Rain and snow return as vapour to the sky, but not without having first of all accomplished the purpose of their descent. And so with the word of Jehovah, which goeth forth out of His mouth (יצא, not יצא, Isa 45:23, because it is thought of as still going on in the preaching of the prophet): it will not return without having effected its object, i.e., without having accomplished what was Jehovah's counsel, or "good pleasure" - without having attained the end for which it was sent by Jehovah (constr. as in Sa2 11:22; Kg1 14:6). The word is represented in other places as the messenger of God (Isa 9:8; Psa 107:20; Psa 147:15.). The personification presupposes that it is not a mere sound or letter. As it goeth forth out of the mouth of God it acquires shape, and in this shape is hidden a divine life, because of its divine origin; and so it runs, with life from God, endowed with divine power, supplied with divine commissions, like a swift messenger through nature and the world of man, there to melt the ice, as it were, and here to heal and to save; and does not return from its course till it has given effect to the will of the sender. This return of the word to God also presupposes its divine nature. The will of God, which becomes concrete and audible in the word, is the utterance of His nature, and is resolved into that nature again as soon as it is fulfilled. The figures chosen are rich in analogies. As snow and rain are the mediating causes of growth, and therefore the enjoyment of what is reaped; so is the soil of the human heart softened, refreshed, and rendered productive or prolific by the word out of the mouth of Jehovah; and this word furnishes the prophet, who resembles the sower, with the seed which he scatters, and brings with it bread which feeds the souls: for every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God is bread (Deu 8:3).

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

“For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and thither returneth not, but when it has watered the earth and made it bear and put forth and has given seed to the sower and bread to the cater, so shall my word be which goeth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void (or without effect), but when it has done that which I desired, and successfully done that for which I sent it.” This is a new comparison, suggested by the mention of the heavens and the earth in the preceding verse. The tenth and eleventh form a single sentence of unusual length in Hebrew composition. The one contains the comparison properly so called, the other makes the application.

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

Isaiah

THE CALL TO THE THIRSTY

Isa 55:1 - Isa 55:13.

The call to partake of the blessings of the Messianic salvation worthily follows the great prophecy of the suffering Servant. No doubt the immediate application of this chapter is to the exiled nation, who in it are summoned from their vain attempts to find satisfaction in the material prosperity realised in exile, and to make the only true blessedness their own by obedience to God’s voice. But if ever the prophet spoke to the world he does so here. It is no unwarranted spiritualising of his invitation which hears in it the voice which invites all mankind to share the blessings of the gospel feast.

The glorious words need little exposition. What we have to do is to see that they do not fall on our ears in vain. They may be roughly divided into two sections-the invitation to the feast, with the promises to the obedient Israel {Isa 55:1 - Isa 55:5}, and the summons to the necessary preparation for the feast, namely, repentance, with the reason for its necessity, and the encouragements to it in the might of God’s faithful promises {Isa 55:6 - Isa 55:13}.

I. Whose voice sounds so beseechingly and welcoming in this great call, which rings out to all thirsty souls? If we note the ‘Me’ and ‘I’ which follow, we shall hear God Himself thus taking the office of summoner to His own feast. By whatever media the gospel call reaches us, it is in reality God’s own voice to our hearts, and that makes the responsibility of hearing more tremendous, and the folly of refusing more inexcusable.

Who are invited? There are but two conditions expressed in Isa 55:1, and these are fulfilled in every soul. All are summoned who are thirsty and penniless. If we have in our souls desires that all the broken cisterns of earth can never slake-and we all have these-and if we have nothing by which we can procure what will still the gnawing hunger and burning thirst of our souls-and none of us has-then we are included in the call. Universal as are the craving for blessedness and the powerlessness to satisfy it, are the adaptation and destination of the gospel.

What is offered? Water, wine, milk-all the beverages of a simple civilisation, differing in their operation, but all precious to a thirsty palate. Water revives, wine gladdens and inspirits, milk nourishes. All that any man needs or desires is to be found in Christ. We shall not understand the nature of the feast unless we remember that He Himself is the ‘gift of God.’ What these three draughts mean is best perceived when we listen to Him saying, in a plain quotation of this call, ‘If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink.’ Nothing short of Himself can satisfy the thirst of one soul, much less of all the thirsty. Like the flow from the magic fountain of the legend, Jesus becomes to each what each most desires.

How does He become ours? The paradox of buying with what is not money is meant, by its very appearance of contradiction, to put in strongest fashion that the possession of Him depends on nothing in us but the sense of need and the willingness to accept. We buy Christ when we part with self, which is all that we have, in order to win Him. We must be full of conscious emptiness and desire, if we are to be filled with His fulness. Jesus interpreted the meaning of ‘come to the waters’ when He said, ‘He that cometh to Me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst.’ Faith is coming, faith is drinking, faith is buying.

The universal call, with is clear setting forth of blessing and conditions of possessing, is followed by a pleading remonstrance as to the folly of lavishing effort and money on what is not bread. It is strange that men will cheerfully take more pains to continue thirsty than to accept the satisfaction which God provides. They toil and continue unsatisfied. Experience does not teach them, and all the while the one real good is waiting to be theirs for nothing.

‘‘Tis heaven alone that is given away;

‘Tis only God may be had for the asking.’

Christ goes a-begging, and we spend our strength in vain toil to acquire what we turn away from when it is offered us in Him. When the great Father offers bread for nothing, we will not have it, but we are ready to give any price for a stone. It is not the wickedness, but the folly, of unbelief, which is the marvel.

The contrast between the heavy price at which men buy hunger, and the easy rate at which they may have full satisfaction, is further set forth by the call to ‘incline the ear,’ which is all that is needed in order that life and nourishment which delights the soul may be ours. ‘Hearken, and eat’ is equivalent to ‘Hearken, and ye shall eat.’ The real ‘good’ for man is only to be found in listening to and obeying the divine voice, whether it sound in invitation, promise, or command. The true life of the soul lies in that listening receptiveness which takes for one’s own God’s great gift of Christ, and yields glad obedience to His every word.

The exiled Israel was promised an ‘everlasting covenant’ as the result of their acceptance of the invitation; and we know whose blood it is that has sealed the new covenant, which abides as long as Christ’s fulness and men’s need shall last. That covenant, of which we seldom hear in Isaiah, but which fills a prominent place in Jeremiah and Ezekiel, is further explained as being ‘the sure mercies of David.’ This phrase and its context are difficult, but the general meaning is clear. The great promises of God’s unfailing mercy, made to the historical founder of the royal house, shall be transferred and continued, with inviolable faithfulness, to those who drink of the gift of God.

This parallel between the great King and the whole mass of the true Israel is further set forth in Isa 55:4 - Isa 55:5. Each begins with ‘Behold,’ and the similar form indicates similarity in contents. The son of Jesse was in some degree God’s witness to the heathen nations, as is expressed in several psalms; and, what he was imperfectly, the ransomed Israel would be to the world. The office of the Christian Church is to draw nations that it knew not, to follow in the blessed path, in which it has found satisfaction and the dawnings of a more than natural glory transfiguring it. They who have themselves drunk of the unfailing fountain in Christ are thereby fitted and called to cry to others, ‘Come ye to the waters.’ Experience of Christ’s preciousness, and of the rest of soul which comes from partaking of His salvation, impels and obliges to call others to share the bliss.

II. The second part of the chapter begins with an urgent call to repentance, based upon the difference between God’s ways and man’s, and on the certainty that the divine promises will be fulfilled. The summons in Isa 55:6 - Isa 55:7 is first couched in most general terms, which are then more closely defined. To ‘seek the Lord’ is to direct conduct and heart to obtain possession of God as one’s own. Of that seeking, the chief element is calling upon Him; since such is His desire to be found of us that it only needs our asking in order to receive. As surely as the mother hears her child’s cry, so surely does He catch the faintest voice addressed to Him. But, men being what they are, a change of ways and of their root in thoughts is indispensable. Seeking which is not accompanied by forsaking self and an evil past is no genuine seeking, and will end in no finding. But this forsaking is only one side of true repentance; the other is return to God, as is expressed in the New Testament word for it, which implies a change of mind, purpose, and conduct. The faces which were turned earthward and averted from God are to be turned God-ward and diverted from earth. Whosoever thus seeks may be confident of finding and of abundant pardon. The belief in God’s loving forgivingness is the strongest motive to repentance, and the most melting argument to listen to the call to seek Him. But there is another motive of a more awful kind; namely, the consideration that the period of mercy is limited, and that a time may come, and that soon, when God no longer ‘may be found’ nor ‘is near.’

The need for such a radical change in conduct and mind is further enforced, in Isa 55:8 - Isa 55:9, by the emphatic statement of present discord between the exiled Israel and God. Mark that the deepest seat of the discord is first dealt with, and then the manifestation of it in active life. Mark also that the order of comparison is inverted in the two successive clauses in Isa 55:8. God’s thoughts have not entered into Israel’s mind and become theirs. The ‘thinkings’ not being regulated according to God’s truth, nor the desires and sentiments brought into accord with His will and mind, a contrariety of ‘ways’ must follow, and the paths which men choose for themselves cannot run parallel with God’s, nor be pleasing to Him. Therefore the stringent urgency of the call to forsake ‘the crooked, wandering ways in which we live,’ and to come back to the path of righteousness which is traced by God for our feet.

But divergence which necessitates repentance is not the only relation between our ways and God’s. There is elevation, transcendency, like that of the eternal heavens, high, boundless, the home of light, the storehouse of beneficent influences which fertilise. If we think of the dreary, flat plains where the exiles were, and the magnificent sweep of the sky over them, we shall feel the beauty of the figure. If ‘My thoughts are not your thoughts’ was all that was to be said, repentance would be of little use, and there would be little to encourage to it; but if God’s thoughts of love and ways of blessing arch themselves above our low lives as the sky bends, pitying and bestowing, above squalor, barrenness, and darkness, then penitence is not in vain, and the low earth may be visited with gifts from the highest heaven.

The certainty that such gifts will be bestowed is the last thought of this magnificent summons. The prophet dilates on that assurance to the end of the chapter. He seems to catch fire, as it were, from the introduction of that grand figure of the lofty heavens domed above the flat earth. In effect, what he says is: They are high and inaccessible, but think what pours down from them, and how all fertility depends on their gifts of rain and snow, and how the moisture which they drop is turned into ‘seed to the sower, and bread to the eater.’ Thinking of that continuous benefaction and miracle, we should see in it a symbol of the better gifts from the higher heavens. So does God’s word come down from His throne. So does it turn barrenness into nodding harvest. So does it quicken undreamed of powers of fruitfulness in human nature and among the forces of the world. So does it supply nourishment for hungry souls, and germs which shall bear fruit in coming years. No complicated machinery nor the most careful culture can work what the gentle dropping rain effects. There is mightier force in it than in many thunder-clouds. The gospel does with ease and in silence what nothing else can do. It makes barren souls fruitful in all good works, and in all happiness worthy of men. Therefore the summons to drink of the springing fountain and to turn from evil ways and thoughts is recommended by the assurance that God’s word is faithful, and all His promises firm.

The final verses {Isa 55:12 - Isa 55:13} give the glowing picture of the return from exile amid the jubilation of a transformed world, as the strongest motive to the obedient hearkening to God’s voice, to which the chapter has summoned, and as the great instance of God’s keeping His word.

The flight from Egypt was ‘in haste’ {Deu 16:3}; but this shall be a triumphal exodus, without conflict or alarms. All nature shall participate in the joy. Mountains and hills shall raise the shrill note of rejoicing, and the trees wave their branches, as if clapping hands in delight. This is more than mere poetic rhetoric. A redeemed humanity implies a glorified world. Nature has been involved in the consequences of sin, and will share in the results of redemption, and have some humble reflected light from ‘the liberty of the glory of the sons of God.’

The fulfilment of this final promise is not yet. All earlier returns of the exiled Israel from the Babylon of their bondage to God and the city of God, such as the historical one which the prophet foretold, and the spiritual one which is repeated age by age in the history of the Christian Church and of single penitent souls, point on to that last triumphant day when ‘the ransomed of the Lord shall return,’ and the world be transfigured to match the glory that they inherit. That fair world without poison or offence, and the nations of the saved who inhabit its peaceful spaces, shall be, in the fullest stretch of the words, ‘to the Lord for a name, and for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.’ The redemption of man and his establishing amid the felicities of a state correspondent to His God-given glory shall be to all eternity and to all possible creations the highest evidence of what God is, and His token to all beings.

Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Yahweh continues speaking to the people of Jerusalem.

For as the rain and snow ... do not return there

This is likely a description of the rain and snow evaporating.

so also my word ... it will achieve the purpose for which I sent it

Yahweh speaks of his word as if it were a person whom he sends out as his messenger to accomplish a task. (See: Personification and Metaphor)

my word will be that goes from my mouth

Here the word "mouth" represents Yahweh himself. AT: "the word that I speak" (See: Synecdoche)

it will not return to me empty

Here the description of the word returning to Yahweh means that it has completed the task that Yahweh had sent it to complete. That it will not return "empty" means that it will not fail to accomplish its task. AT: "it will not fail to complete its task" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

heaven

seed

plant

bread

word

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

For, just as the rain and the snow fall and do not return empty, but do good for you.

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.

For as the rain cometh down, etc. The rain watereth the earth, in coming down from heaven; for that purpose God sends it down, in order that seed may be given to the sower and bread to the eater.

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.