All things are ready; the guests are invited; and nothing is required of them except to come. "Alas, all ye thirsty ones, come ye to the water; and ye that have no silver, come ye, buy, and eat! Yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without payment! Wherefore do ye weigh silver for that which is not bread, and the result of your labour for that which satisfieth not? O hearken ye to me, and eat the good, and let your soul delight itself in fat." Hitzig and Knobel understand by water, wine, and milk, the rich material blessings which awaited the exiles on their return to their fatherland, whereas they were now paying tribute and performing service inf Babylon without receiving anything in return. But the prophet was acquainted with something higher than either natural water (Isaiah 54:3, cf., Isaiah 41:17) or natural wine (Isaiah 25:6). He knew of an eating and drinking which reached beyond the mere material enjoyment (Isaiah 65:13); and the expression ה טּוּב, whilst it includes material blessings (Jeremiah 31:12), is not exhausted by them (Isaiah 63:7, cf., Psalm 27:13), just as התענּג in Isaiah 58:14 (cf., Psalm 37:4, Psalm 37:11) does not denote a feeling or worldly, but of spiritual joy. Water, wine, and milk, as the fact that water is placed first clearly shows, are not the produce of the Holy Land, but figurative representations of spiritual revival, recreation, and nourishment (cf., 1 Peter 2:2, "the sincere milk of the word"). The whole appeal is framed accordingly. When Jehovah summons the thirsty ones of His people to come to the water, the summons must have reference to something more than the water to which a shepherd leads his flock. And as buying without money or any other medium of exchange is an idea which neutralizes itself in the sphere of natural objects, wine and ilk are here blessings and gifts of divine grace, which are obtained by grace (χάριτι, gratis), their reception being dependent upon nothing but a sense of need, and a readiness to accept the blessings offered. Again, the use of the verb שׁברוּ, which is confined in other passages to the purchase of cereals, is a sufficient proof that the reference is not to natural objects, but to such objects as could properly be compared to cereals. The bread and other provisions, which Israel obtained in its present state of punishment, are called "not bread," and "not serving to satisfy," because that which truly satisfies the soul comes from above, and being of no earthly nature, is to be obtained by those who are the most destitute of earthly supplies. Can any Christian reader fail to recall, when reading the invitation in Isaiah 55:1, the words of the parable in Matthew 22:4, "All things are now ready?" And does not Isaiah 55:2 equally suggest the words of Paul in Romans 11:6, "If by grace, then is it no more of works?" Even the exclamation hoi (alas! see Isaiah 18:1), with which the passage commences, expresses deep sorrow on account of the unsatisfied thirst, and the toilsome labour which affords nothing but seeming satisfaction. The way to true satisfaction is indicated in the words, "Hearken unto me:" it is the way of the obedience of faith. In this way alone can the satisfaction of the soul be obtained.

Isaiah 55:7 Parallel Commentaries

the wicked

Isaiah 1:16-18 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil...

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways...

Proverbs 28:13 He that covers his sins shall not prosper: but whoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy.

Jeremiah 3:3 Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there has been no latter rain; and you had a whore's forehead, you refused to be ashamed.

Jeremiah 8:4-6 Moreover you shall say to them, Thus said the LORD; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return...

Ezekiel 3:18,19 When I say to the wicked, You shall surely die; and you give him not warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way...

Ezekiel 18:21-23,27-32 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he has committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right...

Ezekiel 33:11,14-16 Say to them, As I live, said the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked...

Hosea 14:1,2 O Israel, return to the LORD your God; for you have fallen by your iniquity...

Jonah 3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do to them...

Matthew 9:13 But go you and learn what that means, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous...

Luke 15:10,24 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents...

Acts 3:19 Repent you therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out...

Acts 26:20 But showed first to them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles...

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters...

James 4:8-10 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded...

unrighteous man. Heb. man of iniquity. his thought

Genesis 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth...

Psalm 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

Jeremiah 4:14 O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved. How long shall your vain thoughts lodge within you?

Zechariah 8:17 And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbor; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate...

Matthew 15:18,19 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man...

Matthew 23:25,26 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter...

Mar

Matthew 7:21,23 Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven...

Luke 11:39,40 And the Lord said to him, Now do you Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter...

Acts 8:21,22 You have neither part nor lot in this matter: for your heart is not right in the sight of God...

James 1:15 Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death.

for

Isaiah 43:25 I, even I, am he that blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and will not remember your sins.

Isaiah 44:22 I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions, and, as a cloud, your sins: return to me; for I have redeemed you.

Exodus 34:6,7 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering...

Numbers 14:18,19 The LORD is long-suffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty...

Psalm 51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving kindness...

Psalm 130:7 Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.

Jeremiah 3:12,13 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, you backsliding Israel, said the LORD...

Luke 7:47 Why I say to you, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.

Romans 5:16-21 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation...

Ephesians 1:6-8 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he has made us accepted in the beloved...

1 Timothy 1:15,16 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief...

abundantly. Heb. multiply to