1 This is as it were the conclusion of the promise of salvation. For he warns his own to beware of other prophecies, though they boast of great things, and by abominable curses and oaths, to beware of the things of which they speak.
try to make their words credible. Even if they swear by the name of the Lord," he says, "do not believe them. For by these magnificent oaths they want to deceive you.
564 K- xxm, 70-72. Short interpretation on Isaiah, Cap. 48, 1-7. W. vi, so"-so4. 565
(2) For this is the characteristic of false prophets, that they swear sacrilegiously, and curse themselves, that they may the more easily deceive the simple. We have also in our time heard such sacrilegious spirits, who have appealed to the judgment seat of Christ against us, because we wanted the dignity of the sacraments to be preserved. Because they know that the godly are moved by the name of God, they try to make themselves popular with the people through these arts. But the outcome will make it more and more clear from day to day how true they have sworn. Against such teachers the prophet also struggles here and wants his people to cling to the promise of God.
V. 1: You who are called by the name of Israel.
(3) He bluntly insults their unbelief. As if he wanted to say: You are called by name Israel, but it would be desirable if you were Israel in fact and in truth, such a people who clung to the promise that was made to Israel.
V. 2. For they call themselves from the holy city.
He attacks their presumption in saying: We are God's people, we are from the holy city, therefore God can no longer make it bad for us, just as today the papists say: We are followers of Christ and the apostles, therefore we cannot err. We are the Church, therefore we cannot be abandoned by God. But in the first chapter of John [v. 13] it is written: "Who are born not of the will of man, but of God" etc. And yet this single ground of proof has always been the most prominent in the world, and has hardly been able to be resolved among the Jewish people. That is why Paul takes a lot of trouble about it in the epistle to the Romans [Cap. 9. 10. 11].
V. 3. I have proclaimed this future before.
5 He gives the reason why he is so long ahead of them with promises. For your sake, he says, I am doing it, you who have the
You are false Israel, so that you will be disgraced when it happens, and that you will see that you have not been helped by your deeds and plots, but by my promises. "The things to come" he calls the promises of Cyrus, of whom he promises that he will be the redeemer of his people so long after.
V. 4. 5. For I know that you are hard.
6 This passage must be applied in general to all saints of works who strive to accomplish something through their actions and trust in their works. r) I, saith he, am compelled, because of this hardness and iron face of thine, to say beforehand that these things shall come to pass, lest, when they come to pass afterward, thou impute them to thy idols, and to thy righteousness.
(7) Thus we promised forgiveness of sins before we were born. Why then are we so foolish as to ascribe it to our works and our idols? But there is "a vein of iron, and a forehead of brass"; therefore even the papists cannot be changed; and our heretics stubbornly resist the truth, and do not even repent, though they are warned by the terrible examples of theirs.
V. 6, 7: All these things you hear and see.
8. instead of: Quae audisti, vide omnia translate: "All these things you hear, and see, and yet have not proclaimed." But all this is to shame the false teachers, that he may bring the people again to his word from the vain being of idolatry. "I will cause new things to be told thee before," and promise thee such things as thou hast never thought of. These things are also hidden at the time when I speak them; but they come nevertheless in their time. But you cannot know them even one day before they happen.
r) Instead of the following in? 6 and s 7, the 1532 edition has: Here you see why the papists cannot be changed. Here you see why our heretics stubbornly resist the truth and do not even repent, although they are warned by so many frightening examples of theirs. For they have a vein of iron in their neck, and a forehead of brass.
V. 8. and from his mother's womb he was called a transgressor.
(9) "You are called a transgressor from your mother's womb," you deserve to be called a transgressor. For "from the womb" is as much as always. These are epithets, and actually passions of all the ungodly, but especially of false teachers and heretics, that they are not moved, that they are not ashamed; they have not a fleshy brow, but they are despisers and sure.
V. 9. Therefore I am patient for my name's sake.
10. instead of: Propter nomen meum longe faciam etc. translate: "For my name's sake I am patient, and for my glory's sake I will abstain from thee (that is, for thy sake or benefit), that thou be not cut off." This is an apt saying against the merits of works. "For my name's sake," not, for thy name's sake, because thou art called of the holy city, or of Franciscus, or Augustine, or Bernardus etc. Thus he takes away with one word all the righteousnesses and religions of the world.
V. 10. Behold, I will purify you, but not like silver.
(11) This is a good comfort in the cross. For he promises to keep himself, and to abstain from utterly destroying his people. What then is the manner? How does God preserve His own so that they do not perish? Namely, in this way, that He purifies them in the furnace of fire, that is, that He strikes and lays out the cross for us. Consequently, tribulation is not a sign of divine wrath, but of divine grace; consequently, tribulation is not condemnation, but blessedness. And when God strikes, He strikes so that we may be preserved and not condemned with this world [1 Cor. 11:32].
12. that he adds, "Not like silver"; this is done so that one should not understand a bodily cleansing, as he calls the spiritual hunger "a hunger, but not a hunger for bread" in Amos [Cap. 8, 11].
13) The same is true of the following words: "I will choose you in the furnace of misery. But we feel the opposite when we are dried in this furnace. For it seems to us as if we are more defiled than cleansed. Therefore, these sayings must be diligently impressed upon the afflicted, that they may be uplifted and learn that the life of grace is good for nothing unless it is in the furnace of misery, which does not take away grace, but rather brings grace with it. Thus the word of temptations and the cross teaches us; the flesh and the senses teach the opposite.
V. 11. For my sake, yes, for my sake I will do it, so that I will not be blasphemed.
(14) Behold, this he calls blasphemy, when we undertake to propitiate God with our works. For this is why he promises salvation, lest the wicked imagine that they owe it to their works, which is the highest blasphemy. Others prefer to draw it on the Babylonians: I will save you, so that the Babylonians will not continue to blaspheme me,s ) as Moses also says in his song: "But because of the anger of the enemies I have delayed it, so that their enemies would not be proud," Deut. 32, 27.
For I will not leave my honor to another.
(15) When I do something, I do it for my own sake, not for the sake of your works. For that would be to ascribe deity to works. Therefore, all saints of works strive for divinity. But for this reason so many examples of divine grace are presented to us in the Scriptures, that just as we should not despair because of sin, so we should not be presumptuous for the sake of our works and righteousness.
Therefore, this sermon is for Christians, who should mortify their bodies before men, but know before God that they will not be condemned because of their sins, nor saved because of their good deeds, so that the glory may be God's alone, and not ours.
s) Instead of the following in this paragraph, the 1532 edition has: Both views are suitable and good.
V. 12. Listen to me, Jacob, and you Israel, my called one.
I am the first, and also the last; I have always been, and will be forever. I promise you what is to come before it comes to pass, and that by grace, in vain. Therefore, you will be saved because of my promise, not because of your actions and works. This is how he wants us to cling to the word and grace alone.
18 But it is not in vain that he says, "I am the first, and also the last." For so are we men, we change God in general, 1) and believe that he is changed. We do not believe that he is the first and the last at the same time. Thus the whole papacy changes God, because it is called in the forgiveness of sin, and yet lives in the satisfaction of works. Thus the Jews change God, because they accept the promises of Christ, but reject the Christ presented to them. Therefore, it is a great thing to know that the same God is the First and the Last, so that those who are called to the Church enter the realm of everlasting grace, so that even if we sin and fall more often, we do not fall from grace, since we are, as it were, enclosed in the heaven of grace.
V. 13. My hand has founded the ground.
(19) Why do you take refuge in other gods and other help? Do you put your trust in my power? I have strength enough; only wait in silence and hope [Is. 30, 15J, so the redemption will come.
V. 14. 15. Who is among these who can proclaim such things?
20 "Such things", namely from Cyrus. As if he wanted to say: I alone promise it, therefore wait also alone on me, who gives you such. It is the decision of the prophecy of Cyrus, therefore he praises him.
The Lord loves him.
21 He means the Cyrus. The Jews did not believe that they could enter again in this way.
1) Erlanger: vers instead of: kere.
but they ridiculed it as void. For the world always ridicules God's word as something foolish. Therefore, one must wait for help in all distress by faith alone, and not take refuge in works or other help, which is our natural inclination.
V. 16. Come to me and hear this.
22 This passage has been whimsically obscured. The Jews understand the person of the prophet. And this opinion I will also follow. For if it is understood of the person of Christ, this does not rhyme with his saying that he was sent to Babylon to accomplish redemption there. For he was sent only once at the time of the New Testament. If one wants to understand the spiritual mission, this passage will not give any special proof of the mystery of the Holy Trinity. However, one may accept either opinion, whichever one wants. For we have other and stronger testimonies of the Trinity. I take it from the person of the Prophet, who is, as it were, in the midst of Babel, comforting his own. "Come near to me," the Isaiah. "I have not spoken this in secret," that is, in vain and into the wind. It will indeed come to pass, it will certainly come to pass, what the Lord has foretold through me. For at the time "when I was there" these things happened; that is, when I was alive, and foretold these things of Cyrus, they happened in faith. "But now God the Lord hath sent me, and his Spirit," that is, now that my prophecy is fulfilled, I come in the Spirit.
23 Similar passages are also found in Ezekiel, Cap. 3, 14 [Vulg.]: "He lifted me up in the Spirit." And in the Revelation of John [Cap. 21, 10.], "And led me away in the Spirit." Likewise in Lucas [Cap. 1, 17.], "He shall go before him in the spirit of Elijah." So Isaiah came to Babylon, first by the promises, although he was in Judea, as Paul says, he was with the Colossians in spirit 2) [Col. 2, 5.]. On the other hand, he is 2) Jews Latin editions: so spiritu Roma6 esse. The Wittenberg has in the margin: Rom. I. But only Rom. 1, 13. could be forcibly interpreted here.
came to Babel in the Spirit, since these promises were fulfilled.
(24) Now this passage serves to strengthen the Jews, that they may believe the promises which, as they saw, the prophet had foretold with such great certainty.
V. 17. I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is useful.
(25) He speaks to the people who were living contrary to the word. You seek all other ways and means to set yourself at liberty, except me, while they are all utterly useless and ungodly, because they are chosen without faith and without the word from you. Hear therefore (thou that art captive in Babylon) my prophecies, and be not separated from me, and fall not unto other gods: follow not after thy pretensions. For I am your God and your Redeemer, who teaches you what is useful. Therefore stand fast by my word, and nowhere else. But what happens? In temptation we prefer to hear everything else than what we should hear; so, when we are in sins, we prefer to follow our sensation, and judge according to the sensation. But we do not want to wait and patiently endure. These words have an emphasis: "The Lord, your God". As if he wanted to say: I am not your Satan, but I teach and instruct you through promises that will surely redeem you; just believe.
V. 18. 19. O that thou wouldest observe my commandments.
He explains in what way what he teaches is useful. As if he wanted to say: You seek the way of peace by leaving my word, and keep above your presumption. But "the wicked have no peace, and disaster is in their way" [Isa. 59:8, Rom. 3:16]. In this way you will not attain peace. There is only one way if you want to have peace, and that is to believe the word. This is an excellent passage, which gives us the
Word, and all misfortune threatens the godless despisers of the Word.
27 He calls "righteousness" the forgiveness of sins and a just administration of both the temporal government and the priesthood.
(28) Peace must be taken in general, both inward and outward; and righteousness both for the forgiveness of sins and for the good works by which we do good to one another.
V. 20: Go out from Babylon.
After preaching against the unbelieving Chaldeans and Jews, he concludes this prophecy with an exhortation to the Jews to leave all religions and their doings and follow Cyrus, who would lead them back. But also this admonition was despised by the Jews. For the largest part remained at Babel.
Proclaim and let these things be heard.
Offer the sacrifice of praise and give thanks to God for this great benefit.
V. 21. They did not thirst as he led them in the wilderness.
31 He alludes to Egypt. Now the Lord will do exactly what he did in Egypt. He will redeem his people and lead them back in the greatest safety. Thus he includes thanksgiving in memory of the past blessing.
V. 22. But the wicked, says the Lord, have no peace.
32 This is a general saying that without faith there will be neither a good conscience nor lasting happiness. But actually it refers to the unbelieving Jews who were left behind in Babylon.
(33) And here is the end of the prophecy of Cyrus, which contains various and lovely exhortations to faith.