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ISAIAH.
#20. The Frailty of Flesh, and the Power of the Word (40: 6-9).
pp. 84 - 87
The reader may remember that the structure of Isa. 40: 1-11 is as follows:--
A | 1, 2. Message of comfort to Jerusalem. Pardon.
B | 3-5. The VOICE. The Forerunner.
"The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
B | 6-8. The VOICE. The Prophet.
"The word of our God shall stand for ever."
A | 9-11. Good tidings to Zion. Protection.
We have heard, by prophetic anticipation, "The voice of him that crieth in the
wilderness". Now we hear another voice, and unless we are careful we shall be
somewhat confused by the inter-change of speakers. "The voice said, Cry." The voice is
the voice of the Lord, addressing the prophet and urging him to take up the glad message
of Isa. 40: 1, 2: "Cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished." But the prophet can
hardly believe his ears, for the gladness and graciousness of the message. He looked at
the people: a people of whom he had said, in the opening vision of his prophecy, "Ah
sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity; a seed of evil-doers, children that are
corrupters" (Isa. 1: 4), and his heart failed him. Can restoration be anything more than a
dream, a vision, a hope; but a hope doomed to perpetual disappointment?
"The voice said, Cry", and Isaiah replied, "What shall I cry?" (or What is the use of
crying?) for "all flesh is grass", destined to wither away.
Back comes the word of the Lord, which, to make clear the meaning, we take the
liberty of expanding a little:
Yes, Isaiah, the grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but you have been looking in the
wrong direction. Israel's restoration will not be accomplished by the arm of flesh, or by
the wisdom of the world. No leagues or covenants or movements will ever plant Israel
back into the land of promise; that is the glorious prerogative of the Lord Himself. He
that scattered Israel, shall gather him; He will watch over His word to perform it. Isaiah,
for the moment, you have forgotten one thing:
"The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
"The word of our God shall stand for ever."
In this "green and pleasant land" of England there is nothing so ubiquitous and
persistent as "grass". It grows everywhere, enduring the cold of winter and the heat of
summer, but, in Bible lands, grass is a fitting symbol of that which is transitory. When
He would speak of something that was passing, our Saviour referred to the grass of the
field "which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven" (Matt. 6: 30).