Isaiah 59:19 So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun… I. AN ATTACK made by hell and its auxiliaries upon the kingdom and interest of Christ. "The enemy shall come in like a flood." Notice — 1. By whom the attack is made. "The enemy. The Church of God, or His saints in this world, have many enemies. They are expressed in the singular number, because of their unity in their designs against Christ and His kingdom, and because they attack under one principal leader and commander, namely, the god of this world, whose kingdom Christ came to overthrow., 2. The manner of the enemy's attack. He comes in like a flood, with great violence and noise, as though he would sweep away all clean before him (Revelation 12:15). It is no unusual thing, in Scripture, to represent the irruptions of hell and its armies upon the Church of God under the notion of a rapid flood or river, which threatens the ruin of everything that stands in its way (Psalm 93:3). 3. The progress of the "standard" I understand Christ, who is not only a standard-bearer "among ten thousand" (Song of Solomon 5:10), but the Standard or ensign itself (Isaiah 11:10). By the "lifting up" of the standard I understand the displays of the glory of Christ in a Gospel dispensation, accompanied with the efficacy of the Spirit of the Lord. 3. The repulse itself given to the enemy of the Spirit of the Lord He is "put to flight" (Marg.), or, as Calvin reads It, the Spirit of the Lord shall drive him back like the waters of Jordan, which were driven back towards their fountain, when they stood in the way of Israel's entry upon the possession of the promised land. 4. The certainty of this promise of driving back the enemy — it is not a maybe, but a shall be. (E. Erskine.) Parallel Verses KJV: So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. |
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