Chooseth a tree that will not rot - For what? To make a god out of it! The rich we find made theirs of gold and silver; the poor man was obliged to put up with a wooden god! From the words "he that hath no oblation chooseth a tree," we may learn that the gold and silver necessary to make the graven image was first dedicated, and then formed into a god! How stupid is idolatry! Strange that these people did not perceive that there could be no help in these molten and wooden idols!

is so impoverished that he hath no oblation. Heb. is poor of oblation. chooseth

Isaiah 2:8,9 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made...

Isaiah 44:13-19 The carpenter stretches out his rule; he marks it out with a line; he fits it with planes, and he marks it out with the compass...

Jeremiah 10:3,4 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax...

Daniel 5:23 But have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you...

shall not

Isaiah 41:7 So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smoothes with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying...

Isaiah 46:7 They bear him on the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he stands; from his place shall he not remove: yes...

1 Samuel 5:3,4 And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen on his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD...

O Thou that Bringest Good Tidings
'O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain: O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!'--ISAIAH xl. 9. There is something very grand in these august and mysterious voices which call one to another in the opening verses of this chapter. First, the purged ear of the prophet hears the divine command to him and to his brethren--Comfort Jerusalem with the message of the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

8Th Day. Reviving Grace.
"He is Faithful that Promised." "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint."--ISAIAH xl. 31. Reviving Grace. "Wilt thou not revive us, O Lord?" My soul! art thou conscious of thy declining state? Is thy walk less with God, thy frame less heavenly? Hast thou less conscious nearness to the mercy-seat,--diminished communion with thy Saviour? Is prayer less a privilege than it has …
John Ross Macduff—The Faithful Promiser

"And the Redeemer Shall Come unto Zion, and unto them that Turn,"
Isaiah lix. 20.--"And the Redeemer shall come unto Zion, and unto them that turn," &c. Doctrines, as things, have their seasons and times. Every thing is beautiful in its season. So there is no word of truth, but it hath a season and time in which it is beautiful. And indeed that is a great part of wisdom, to bring forth everything in its season, to discern when and where, and to whom it is pertinent and edifying, to speak such and such truths. But there is one doctrine that is never out of season, …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning