Isaiah 58:13,14 - Matthew Henry Commentary

Matthew Henry’s commentary on Isaiah 58:13,14

I make no secret of being “Sabbatarian”. I don’t attempt to cram it down the throats of others. But I am not ashamed of the Word of God, make no excuses for it and joyfully proclaim it gladly.

Isaiah 58 to me is one of the most intriguing texts in all the Bible. It clearly proclaims the heart of God and His will for His children on how we go about loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves. He shares with us our exercise of faith that He says is meaningful and lasting. Alleluia.

I want to particularly call your attention to the last two verses, as they relate to the Sabbath Day of our Lord. This is the day that Jesus said was sanctified, made even, for you and I. Let’s look at the verses, shall we:

Isa 58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Isa 58:14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

I want to share with you, what the great commentator Matthew Henry has to say about this text, if I may:

Isa 58:13-14
Great stress was always laid upon the due observance of the sabbath day, and it was particularly required from the Jews when they were captives in Babylon, because by keeping that day, in honour of the Creator, they distinguished themselves from the worshippers of the gods that have not made the heavens and the earth. See Isa_56:1, Isa_56:2, where keeping the sabbath is joined, as here, with keeping judgment and doing justice. Some, indeed, understand this of the day of atonement, which they think is the fast spoken of in the former part of the chapter, and which is called a sabbath of rest, Lev_23:32. But, as the fasts before spoken of seem to be those that were occasional, so this sabbath is doubtless the weekly sabbath, that great sign between God and his professing people - his appointing it a sign of his favour to them and their observing it a sign of their obedience to him. Now observe here,

I. How the sabbath is to be sanctified (Isa_58:13); and, there remaining still a sabbatism for the people of God, this law of the sabbath is still binding to us on our Lord's day.

1. Nothing must be done that puts contempt upon the sabbath day, or looks like having mean thoughts of it, when God has so highly dignified it. We must turn away our foot from the sabbath, from trampling upon it, as profane atheistical people do, from travelling on that day (so some); we must turn away our foot from doing our pleasure on that holy day, that is, from living at large, and taking a liberty to do what we please on sabbath days, without the control and restraint of conscience, or from indulging ourselves in the pleasures of sense, in which the modern Jews wickedly place the sanctification of the sabbath, though it is as great a profanation of it as any thing. On sabbath days we must not walk in our own ways (that is, not follow our callings), not find our own pleasure (that is, not follow our sports and recreations); nay, we must not speak our own words, words that concern either our callings or our pleasures; we must not allow ourselves a liberty of speech on that day as on other days, for we must then mind God's ways, make religion the business of the day; we must choose the things that please him; and speak his words, speak of divine things as we sit in the house and walk by the way. In all we say and do we must put a difference between this day and other days.

2. Every thing must be done that puts an honour on the day and is expressive of our high thoughts of it. We must call it a delight, not a task and a burden; we must delight ourselves in it, in the restraints it lays upon us and the services it obliges us to. We must be in our element when we are worshipping God, and in communion with him. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! We must not only count it a delight, but call it so, must openly profess the complacency we take in the day and the duties of it. We must call it so to God, in thanksgiving for it and earnest desire of his grace to enable us to do the work of the day in its day, because we delight in it. We must call it so to others, to invite them to come and share in the pleasure of it; and we must call it so to ourselves, that we may not entertain the least thought of wishing the sabbath gone that we may sell corn. We must call it the Lord's holy day, and honourable. We must call it holy, separated from common use and devoted to God and to his service, must call it the holy of the Lord, the day which he has sanctified to himself. Even in Old Testament times the sabbath was called the Lord's day, and therefore it is fitly called so still, and for a further reason, because it is the Lord Christ's day, Rev_1:10. It is holy because it is the Lord's day, and upon both accounts it is honourable. It is a beauty of holiness that is upon it; it is ancient, and its antiquity is its honour; and we must make it appear that we look upon it as honourable by honouring God on that day. We put honour upon the day when we give honour to him that instituted it, and to whose honour it is dedicated.

II. What the reward is of the sabbath - sanctification, Isa_58:14. If we thus remember the sabbath day to keep it holy,

1. We shall have the comfort of it; the work will be its own wages. If we call the sabbath a delight, then shall we delight ourselves in the Lord; he will more and more manifest himself to us as the delightful subject of our thoughts and meditations and the delightful object of our best affections. Note, The more pleasure we take in serving God the more pleasure we shall find in it. If we go about duty with cheerfulness, we shall go from it with satisfaction and shall have reason to say, “It is good to be here, good to draw near to God.”

2. We shall have the honour of it: I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, which denotes not only a great security (as that, Isa_32:16, He shall dwell on high), but great dignity and advancement. “Thou shalt ride in state, shalt appear conspicuous, and the eyes of all thy neighbours shall be upon thee.” It was said of Israel, when God led them triumphantly out of Egypt, that he made them to ride on the high places of the earth, Deu_32:12, Deu_32:13. Those that honour God and his sabbath he will thus honour. If God by his grace enable us to live above the world, and so to manage it as not only not to be hindered by it, but to be furthered and carried on by it in our journey towards heaven, then he makes us to ride on the high places of the earth.

3. We shall have the profit of it: I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father, that is, with all the blessings of the covenant and all the precious products of Canaan (which was a type of heaven), for these were the heritage of Jacob. Observe, The heritage of believers is what they shall not only be portioned with hereafter, but fed with now, fed with the hopes of it, and not flattered, fed with the earnests and foretastes of it; and those that are so fed have reason to say that they are well fed. In order that we may depend upon it, it is added, “The mouth of the Lord has spoken it; you may take God's word for it, for he cannot lie nor deceive; what his mouth has spoken his hand will give, his hand will do, and not one iota or tittle of his good promise shall fall to the ground.” Blessed, therefore, thrice blessed, is he that doeth this, and lays hold on it, that keeps the sabbath from polluting it.

As I share with others who contend for “Sunday keeping”, I am ever astounded at how they respond exactly as brother Henry has spoken it above: 1. Nothing must be done that puts contempt upon the sabbath day, or looks like having mean thoughts of it, when God has so highly dignified it.

The contempt of those who in outrage scorn Sabbath Keeping is for me, difficult to comprehend. The Word of God is not difficult, when spiritually discerned. There are a great cloud of ignored witnesses who readily have confirmed what the Holy Spirit has spoken to my heart concerning this matter. Yet there are those today who rant and rave, spit out scriptures that they interpret for themselves, again greatly ignoring testimony of many a Godly man and woman. Why is it that those who call themselves believers, yet profane the Sabbath (7th day or 1st day, it matters little any more) and ridicule anyone who would testify otherwise? They do not understand the law of God, nor it’s relationship to those who are saved by grace through faith. They rant about keeping God’s commandments in one breath, and not being under the law in the next. If you provide evidence expressing clear interpretation, they ignore it and keep right on repeating the same few verses without having a clue of what they are really saying.

I try to be patient, I really do. I have entered into several long dialogs with certain individuals about this matter, to little or no avail. Thankfully, the discussion has been in public, and I trust that some reading might begin to question keeping Catholic tradition in favor of obedience unto God. With such violent and passionate outbursts, I have to wonder if those who hold such contempt for the very first commandment of God in the whole bible (Genesis 2:1-3), are saved at all? It’s tragic, frustrating, and heartbreaking. Oh how deep the deception, how clever the lies that deceive.

On a brighter note, I was riding to church in a nearby town with some dear friends. I have never, to my knowledge, said anything to them about keeping the Sabbath. All of a sudden, they brought it up and told me God had been dealing with them about it. Well, glory to God. I hope you know that made my day. I was then able to witness how the Lord has blessed me, as promised in the above two verses and many other places in Scripture. Oh, yes, dear saints, the Holy Spirit is still moving in the hearts of those who are listening. Alleluia. Are you? I hope and trust that you are.

Rejoicing in Him,

Bro. Lahry