Isaiah 7:9














If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established. Faith is older than the Law. It is, in fact, the eider principle of all Divine teachings. Believe. "For he that cometh to God must believe that he is." Moreover, it is a living principle. It is not a cold precept, but is vital with trust and confidence.

I. THE PROPHETIC REVELATION. It is very wonderful, and very distinct. See the succeeding (ver. 14): "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." Well, therefore, has Isaiah been called" the evangelical prophet," seeing that we have in his words the revelation of an immaculate Messiah and a suffering Messiah.

II. THE GENERAL PRINCIPLE. That we are not "established" unless we believe is a principle, not only of particular but of universal application. We must believe in each other to have commerce established. Home itself is never secure without mutual trust, and there can be no established character in religion unless we have that faith without which it is impossible to please God, and which gives vital energy to all other graces.

III. THE ABSOLUTE CONDITION. "If ye will not believe." Here is the responsibility of the soul. And doubtless we are responsible for our beliefs. We are to weigh, to judge, to consider, to prove all things. "Judge, I pray you," says God in this same Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 5:3), "betwixt me and my vineyard." The condition must be absolute. It is not a threat; it is a statement of that which cannot be other than so. If I do not believe that corn will grow, I shall not plant it. If I do not believe that God is able and willing to save, I shall not be amongst those who believe to the saving of their souls. If I do not believe that spiritual aid will be given to perfect my. graces, I shall not pray for it. "If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established." - W.M.S.

If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.
There are only two sources from which human hope or happiness can be derived, and these are sense and faith.

I. SENSE AS THE SOURCE OF HUMAN HAPPINESS. It is self-evident from the history of what is past and from observation and experience of what is present that, amidst all the enjoyments, whether more gross or more refined, the objects of sense can possibly furnish to flatter or gratify the passions, nothing is to be found that can give establishment to the human heart, or settle and compose the restless spirit. There are three things which render it impossible that any mere worldly object or pursuit should render us happy.

1. The difficulty of acquiring what, in imagination or forethought, we have placed our happiness upon, and in the possession of which we have fondly dreamed of enjoying all that our hearts could desire.

2. When with infinite labour we seem to have surmounted every difficulty and to have gained the point we had in view, our promised happiness is snatched from us in a moment, and we feel our disappointment and distress rendered more poignant from the flattering prospects that lay before us, and the ideal estimate we had formed of what we have lost.

3. But let us suppose that we could acquire with ease, and enjoy with security, for a limited time — to our dying day — the objects we so eagerly pursue; how do we know that we shall preserve our relish for them? "Our very wishes give us not our wish."

II. FAITH ALONE HOLDS FORTH THOSE OBJECTS THAT CAN ESTABLISH THE HUMAN HEART OR QUIET THE RESTLESS SPIRIT. Nothing can give establishment to the mind of man but what can effectually remove the cause of our present disordered state and prove a never-failing source of inward peace and self-enjoyment.

1. What is the cause of this disorder; of this disquietude and restlessness, amidst all the objects of sense; of this vacancy of the human mind, amidst all the profusion of nature? The cause is evidently a departure from the original constitution of our nature. For no creature can be unhappy, continuing in that state, in which, he was placed by perfect wisdom and goodness.

2. The remedy which faith provides for the cure of this evil. It directs us to the righteousness of God, manifested without the law, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all that believe; for there is no difference. The doctrine that holds forth a finished salvation by the blood of Christ, as the alone ground of a believer's hope, is, of all others, the best fitted to beget not only a humble submission, but a cheerful resignation to our gracious Lord in the various allotments of His providence concerning us. Who that believeth all this with all his heart could for a moment entertain a doubt that his bodily and temporal concerns would be safe in His hands?

(T. Gordon.)

1. The promises of God are not at all times easily, steadily, and firmly believed.

2. God, in the communication of His Word, does not regard us as mere machines. The Word cannot profit unless it be mixed with faith in those who hear it. In the Christian's life there are three kinds of stability.

I. THERE IS A STABILITY OF JUDGMENT. This regards the truths of religion. It is of great importance to have a judgment clear and fixed as it respects the great concerns of the soul and eternity, and the doctrines of the Gospel of Christ; for as we think we feel, as we feel we desire, as we desire we act, and as we act our characters are formed, and our conditions determined. There are some things in revelation concerning which a man's mind, so to speak, need not be made up. Little or no injury will arise from his hesitation or suspense. But this is not the case with all. There are some things which must be fundamental, and therefore sustain others; and according to the firmness of the foundation will be the firmness of the whole superstructure. Now what is to lead us into this stability but faith? It cannot be human authority among men. What one patronises another denies, and here you would soon find yourself like a man in a labyrinth, who on this side and on that is calling out, "Is this the way?" and knows not what direction to take with safety and comfort. Or, if you depend upon reason, this may do something from observation and analogy; but if you receive the revelation of God only as far as you can understand it, you will make your faith commensurate with your knowledge. Thus obstructions and difficulties will arise continually, and you will be strangers to all satisfaction and repose. No, we must believe all that the Lord has spoken to us in His Word, and because He has spoken it. "I had a little talent and a little learning," said Dr. Watts before his death; "but now I lay them all aside, and endeavour to receive the Gospel as the poor and unlearned receive it."

II. THERE IS A STABILITY OF PRACTICE. This regards the duties of religion. By faith we stand. In order to see the strength and beauty of the sentiment contained in our text, let us place the believer in three positions.

1. In a place of secrecy. When alone, how do we act? Faith is a principle that always operates alike upon the mind, i.e., its motives are the same in private as in public. Faith shows us the future and eternal consequences of our actions. Faith brings God and places Him before us Hence the closet is visited as the temple. The good fight of faith is carried on amidst many struggles, unobserved by any human being, but all well known to Him who is the Captain of our salvation.

2. In cases of prosperity and indulgence. How easily is a person drawn aside from the path of duty by the honour which cometh from men, by a regard to the friendship of this world, or by earthly riches! We are therefore told that the prosperity of fools destroys them. But the believer in Christ is not a fool: faith makes him wise unto salvation, wise both for time and eternity. "This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."

3. In a condition of suffering and danger. What an agonizing trial was Abraham called to endure, when God bade him take his only son Isaac, whom he loved, and offer him up for a burnt offering! yet faith enabled him to do it. Moses had a hard task to accomplish, when he went and stood before Pharaoh, but we are told, "he had respect unto the recompense of the reward"; "by faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible." And how was it with Daniel? There was something dreadful in being cast into the den of lions; but what was this to a man who saw that God would shut the lions' mouths, so that they should not hurt him? What was this to a man who by faith heard the voice of Him who said, "Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do; but fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell; yea, I say unto you, fear Him." Faith also views the Saviour as acting and as suffering for us.

III. THERE IS A STABILITY OF HOPE. This regards the comforts of religion. How is it that Christians can rejoice amidst their sorrows? The Scripture assigns the reason when it tells us of the joy of faith. Faith appropriates.

(W. Jay.)

Isaiah had a very heavy commission from God. He was to go and speak to people who would not hear him, and to be to them a messenger rather of death than of life. Though the message itself would be full of life, yet they would refuse it, and so bring upon themselves a ten-fold death. As a sort of experiment in his work, he was called upon first to go and speak to King Ahaz, that wicked king. He knew in his own soul that what he had to say would be rejected; but, nevertheless, at the command of God, he went to speak to the king. He was told where he would meet him. God knows where to send His faithful servants. He knows how to adapt the message with great speciality to the individual case of each person who is within sound of the preacher's voice; and He knows how to adapt even the voice itself to the ear of every hearer.

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

These words furnish us with a warning and an encouragement.

I. GOD DESERVES TO BE BELIEVED.

1. He is God; and being God, He cannot lie.

2. His Word always has been true.

3. He has no motive for being untrue.

4. The honour of God is involved in His veracity.

5. Suppose even for a moment that we could not trust in the truthfulness of God, what would be left for us to trust to? When rocks move, what stands firm?

II. SOME ARE NOT WILLING TO BELIEVE GOD. That is clear by the fear expressed in the text: "If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established." Believing is a matter of the will. God's grace works faith, not upon us, but in us. God works in us to will and to do; and in the willing He leads us up to believing. We voluntarily believe; and certainly men voluntarily disbelieve. Why is this, this strange unwillingness of some men, nay, in a sense of all men, to believe in God?

1. They are willing to believe other things.

2. Another thing is significant, that men cling tenaciously to faith in themselves.

3. Instead of believing in the Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life, some prefer an emotional religion.

4. Some stubbornly suffer under unbelief.

5. I notice, too, that such people demand this and that of God, beyond what He has revealed.

III. FAITH IS NOT A THING TO BE DESPISED. Have you never heard people say, "Oh, they preach up faith, you know"? "Well, what is faith?" "Well, it is just believing so-and-so." Faith is a most wonderful thing, for —

1. It is a fair index of the heart.

2. A sure proof of a change of mind.

3. It inaugurates purity of life.

4. It is faith that leads to prayer, and prayer is the very breath of God in man.

5. It is faith that glorifies God.

IV. THOSE WHO REFUSE TO EXERCISE FAITH WILL MISS MANY GREAT PRIVILEGES. I might mention many, but the text gives us the one which I will dwell upon: "If ye will not believe, surely he shall not be established."

1. It means, first, that those who believe not will miss establishment in comfort.

2. Ye shall never enjoy establishment in judgment. There are many persons who do not know what to believe; they heard one man the other day, and they thought that he spoke very cleverly, and they agreed with him. They heard another the next day, who was rather more clever, and he went the other way, so they went with him. Poor souls, driven to and fro, never knowing what is what! "If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established"; you shall be like the moon, that is never two days alike; you shall seem to believe this, and to believe that, and yet really believe nothing.

3. Next, we want an establishment in conduct.

4. So it is also with establishment in hope.

5. We want to be established in spiritual vigour and strength.

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

is here shown to be a holding of Divine truth. "He who confides in God will abide."

(B. Blake, B. D.)

If Judah does not hold fast to his God, he will lose his fast hold by losing the country in which he dwells, the ground beneath his feet.

(F. Delitzsch.)

Ahaz was a mixed character. He has been convicted in history of being an idolater as well as a professor of the true religion. He was therefore the representative of double-mindedness, a halting between two opinions, that double-mindedness which is unstable, and which cannot excel. Probably Isaiah, marking the workings of his countenance under the delivery of this communication, saw signs of fear, doubt, hesitancy: the king did not spring at the word with access of energy and with the confidence of inspiration; so the prophet, quick to detect all facial signs, blessed with the insight that follows the spirit in all its withdrawment, said instantly, "If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established."

(J. Parker, D. D.)

Sunday School Chronicle.
To take an illustration from architecture, materialism cuts out the foundation of the soul structure just where the strain comes. We are told that the lamentable disaster to the Campanile of St. Mark's at Venice was due to the action of the Loggia architects in cutting out the stone coping in its whole length, thus making a wound on the side, where the pressure was severest, half a yard deep and half a yard high. If this be true, it is not remarkable that the massive tower came down bodily. Neither is the downfall of many a man remarkable to us when we come to know how his faith in God had been utterly destroyed.

(Sunday School Chronicle.)

Sunday School Chronicle.
Lord Wolseley said, "Give me 20,000 fanatics and I would march across Europe." Grotius, in describing the success of the Dutch in snapping the Spanish yoke, gives this as the secret of their prowess, "Believing that they could do it they did it."

(Sunday School Chronicle.)

People
Ahaz, Aram, David, Immanuel, Isaiah, Jashub, Jotham, Pekah, Remaliah, Rezin, Shearjashub, Tabeal, Tabeel, Uzziah
Places
Assyria, Damascus, Egypt, Euphrates River, Jerusalem, Samaria, Syria, Washer's Field
Topics
Believe, Broken, Credence, Ephraim, E'phraim, Established, Faith, Firm, Kingdom, Remaliah, Remali'ah, Remaliah's, Samaria, Sama'ria, Stand, Stedfast, Surely
Outline
1. Ahaz, being troubled with fear of Rezin and Pekah, is comforted by Isaiah
10. Ahaz, having liberty to choose a sign, and refusing it, has for a sign, Christ promised
17. His judgment is prophesied to come by Assyria

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Isaiah 7:9

     5184   standing
     8023   faith, necessity

Isaiah 7:2-9

     7266   tribes of Israel

Isaiah 7:8-9

     5157   head

Library
Immanuel
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name IMMANUEL , God with us. T here is a signature of wisdom and power impressed upon the works of God, which evidently distinguishes them from the feeble imitations of men. Not only the splendour of the sun, but the glimmering light of the glow-worm proclaims His glory. The structure and growth of a blade of grass, are the effects of the same power which produced the fabric of the heavens and the earth. In His Word likewise He is
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Honour and Glory unto Him.
IN Revelation V, that great worship scene, beginning some day in heaven and going on into future ages, we read of the Lamb to whom honor and glory are due. He alone is worthy. And every heart who knows Him rejoicing in His love, cries out, "Thou art worthy!" Yea, the sweetest song for the redeemed soul is the outburst of praise, which we find on the threshold of His own Revelation. "Unto Him that loveth us and washed us from our sins in His own blood and hath made us kings and priests unto God and
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

Estimate of St. Augustin.
Augustin, the man with upturned eye, with pen in the left hand, and a burning heart in the right (as he is usually represented), is a philosophical and theological genius of the first order, towering like a pyramid above his age, and looking down commandingly upon succeeding centuries. He had a mind uncommonly fertile and deep, bold and soaring; and with it, what is better, a heart full of Christian love and humility. He stands of right by the side of the greatest philosophers of antiquity and of
St. Augustine—The Confessions and Letters of St

On Turning the First Page of the Review which Follows...
On turning the first page of the review which follows, follows, "by Rowland Williams, D.D. Vice-Principal and Professor of Hebrew, St. David's College, Lampeter; Vicar of Broad Chalke, Wilts,"--we are made sensible that we are in company of a writer considerably in advance of Dr. Temple, though altogether of the same school. In fact, if Dr. Williams had not been Vice-Principal of a Theological College, and a Doctor of Divinity, one would have supposed him to be a complete infidel,--who found it convenient
John William Burgon—Inspiration and Interpretation

Gihon, the Same with the Fountain of Siloam.
I. In 1 Kings 1:33,38, that which is, in the Hebrew, "Bring ye Solomon to Gihon: and they brought him to Gihon"; is rendered by the Chaldee, "Bring ye him to Siloam: and they brought him to Siloam." Where Kimchi thus; "Gihon is Siloam, and it is called by a double name. And David commanded, that they should anoint Solomon at Gihon for a good omen, to wit, that, as the waters of the fountain are everlasting, so might his kingdom be." So also the Jerusalem writers; "They do not anoint the king, but
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Letter vi (Circa A. D. 1127) to the Same
To the Same He protests against the reputation for holiness which is attributed to him, and promises to communicate the treatises which he has written. I. Even if I should give myself to you entirely that would be too little a thing still in my eyes, to have recompensed towards you even the half of the kindly feeling which you express towards my humility. I congratulate myself, indeed, on the honour which you have done me; but my joy, I confess, is tempered by the thought that it is not anything
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

The Debt of Irenæus to Justin Martyr
If we are to proceed with safety in forming a judgment as to the relation between Justin and Irenæus in respect of the matter which they have in common, it will be necessary not merely to consider a number of selected parallels, but also to examine the treatment of a particular theme in the two writers. Let us set side by side, for example, c. 32 of Justin's First Apology with c. 57 of the Demonstration. Justin has been explaining to his Roman readers who the Jewish prophets were, and then
Irenæus—The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching

Bunsen's Biblical Researches.
When geologists began to ask whether changes in the earth's structure might be explained by causes still in operation, they did not disprove the possibility of great convulsions, but they lessened necessity for imagining them. So, if a theologian has his eyes opened to the Divine energy as continuous and omnipresent, he lessens the sharp contrast of epochs in Revelation, but need not assume that the stream has never varied in its flow. Devotion raises time present into the sacredness of the past;
Frederick Temple—Essays and Reviews: The Education of the World

Jewish views on Trade, Tradesmen, and Trades' Guilds
We read in the Mishnah (Kidd. iv. 14) as follows: "Rabbi Meir said: Let a man always teach his son a cleanly and a light trade; and let him pray to Him whose are wealth and riches; for there is no trade which has not both poverty and riches, and neither does poverty come from the trade nor yet riches, but everything according to one's deserving (merit). Rabbi Simeon, the son of Eleazer, said: Hast thou all thy life long seen a beast or a bird which has a trade? Still they are nourished, and that
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Redemption for Man Lost to be Sought in Christ.
1. The knowledge of God the Creator of no avail without faith in Christ the Redeemer. First reason. Second reason strengthened by the testimony of an Apostle. Conclusion. This doctrine entertained by the children of God in all ages from the beginning of the world. Error of throwing open heaven to the heathen, who know nothing of Christ. The pretexts for this refuted by passages of Scripture. 2. God never was propitious to the ancient Israelites without Christ the Mediator. First reason founded on
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

The Scriptures
Q-II: WHAT RULE HAS GOD GIVEN TO DIRECT US HOW WE MAY GLORIFY AND ENJOY HIM? A: The Word of God, which is contained in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him. 2 Tim 3:16. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,' By Scripture is understood the sacred Book of God. It is given by divine inspiration; that is, the Scripture is not the contrivance of man's brain, but is divine in its origin. The image of Diana was had in veneration
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The Mercy of God
The next attribute is God's goodness or mercy. Mercy is the result and effect of God's goodness. Psa 33:5. So then this is the next attribute, God's goodness or mercy. The most learned of the heathens thought they gave their god Jupiter two golden characters when they styled him good and great. Both these meet in God, goodness and greatness, majesty and mercy. God is essentially good in himself and relatively good to us. They are both put together in Psa 119:98. Thou art good, and doest good.' This
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The Plan for the Coming of Jesus.
God's Darling, Psalms 8:5-8.--the plan for the new man--the Hebrew picture by itself--difference between God's plan and actual events--one purpose through breaking plans--the original plan--a starting point--getting inside. Fastening a Tether inside: the longest way around--the pedigree--the start. First Touches on the Canvas: the first touch, Genesis 3:15.--three groups of prediction--first group: to Abraham, Genesis 12:1-3; to Isaac, Genesis 26:1-5; to Jacob, Genesis 28:10-15; through Jacob,
S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks about Jesus

Questions.
LESSON I. 1. In what state was the Earth when first created? 2. To what trial was man subjected? 3. What punishment did the Fall bring on man? 4. How alone could his guilt be atoned for? A. By his punishment being borne by one who was innocent. 5. What was the first promise that there should be such an atonement?--Gen. iii. 15. 6. What were the sacrifices to foreshow? 7. Why was Abel's offering the more acceptable? 8. From which son of Adam was the Seed of the woman to spring? 9. How did Seth's
Charlotte Mary Yonge—The Chosen People

Commencement of the Legends Concerning Jesus --His Own Idea of his Supernatural Character.
Jesus returned to Galilee, having completely lost his Jewish faith, and filled with revolutionary ardor. His ideas are now expressed with perfect clearness. The innocent aphorisms of the first part of his prophetic career, in part borrowed from the Jewish rabbis anterior to him, and the beautiful moral precepts of his second period, are exchanged for a decided policy. The Law would be abolished; and it was to be abolished by him.[1] The Messiah had come, and he was the Messiah. The kingdom of God
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

Of Faith. The Definition of It. Its Peculiar Properties.
1. A brief recapitulation of the leading points of the whole discussion. The scope of this chapter. The necessity of the doctrine of faith. This doctrine obscured by the Schoolmen, who make God the object of faith, without referring to Christ. The Schoolmen refuted by various passages. 2. The dogma of implicit faith refuted. It destroys faith, which consists in a knowledge of the divine will. What this will is, and how necessary the knowledge of it. 3. Many things are and will continue to be implicitly
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Jesus Makes his First Disciples.
(Bethany Beyond Jordan, Spring a.d. 27.) ^D John I. 35-51. ^d 35 Again on the morrow [John's direct testimony bore fruit on the second day] John was standing, and two of his disciples [An audience of two. A small field; but a large harvest]; 36 and he looked [Gazed intently. The word is used at Mark xiv. 67; Luke xxii. 61 Mark x. 21, 27. John looked searchingly at that face, which, so far as any record shows, he was never to see on earth again. The more intently we look upon Jesus, the more powerfully
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Upbringing of Jewish Children
The tenderness of the bond which united Jewish parents to their children appears even in the multiplicity and pictorialness of the expressions by which the various stages of child-life are designated in the Hebrew. Besides such general words as "ben" and "bath"--"son" and "daughter"--we find no fewer than nine different terms, each depicting a fresh stage of life. The first of these simply designates the babe as the newly--"born"--the "jeled," or, in the feminine, "jaldah"--as in Exodus 2:3, 6, 8.
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Isaiah
CHAPTERS I-XXXIX Isaiah is the most regal of the prophets. His words and thoughts are those of a man whose eyes had seen the King, vi. 5. The times in which he lived were big with political problems, which he met as a statesman who saw the large meaning of events, and as a prophet who read a divine purpose in history. Unlike his younger contemporary Micah, he was, in all probability, an aristocrat; and during his long ministry (740-701 B.C., possibly, but not probably later) he bore testimony, as
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

Links
Isaiah 7:9 NIV
Isaiah 7:9 NLT
Isaiah 7:9 ESV
Isaiah 7:9 NASB
Isaiah 7:9 KJV

Isaiah 7:9 Bible Apps
Isaiah 7:9 Parallel
Isaiah 7:9 Biblia Paralela
Isaiah 7:9 Chinese Bible
Isaiah 7:9 French Bible
Isaiah 7:9 German Bible

Isaiah 7:9 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Isaiah 7:8
Top of Page
Top of Page