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Thus the Lord expostulates with His ancient people, and thus He has reason to expostulate with us.

1. We are deaf, in a spiritual sense, when we do not attend to the Divine admonitions, or give earnest heed to the word of instruction; and we are blind, in the same sense, when we do not perceive the glory of the Gospel, and the force and beauty of Divine truth.

2. Before one step in the way of salvation can be taken, this hindrance must be removed. The eyes of the blind must be opened, and the ears of the deaf must be unstop, pad. Hence there is a call to the deaf to hear, and to the blind to look that they may see. This is like the command of our Saviour to the man with the withered hand, to stretch it forth, and implies that this deafness and blindness was their fault, as well as their misfortune. In dependence upon His promise they ought, therefore, to stir themselves up to the discharge of their duty.

3. That the nations who have not the light of the Gospel should want spiritual senses is no wonder; but that those who are, by profession, the "servants" of God, and His "messengers," or those to whom His messengers are sent, and perfectly instructed, should be blind and deaf, is much to be lamented.

4. The sincere followers of Christ whose eyes and ears He has opened to attend to His saving instructions; who love the Gospel, and have been led by it to repentance, faith and newness of life; who do not habitually neglect, but rather prize the ordinances of religion, and the means of grace; even these may be charged with not exercising, as they ought, the spiritual senses which God has given them.

(W. Richardson.)

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KJV: Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.

WEB: "Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see.