241 Behold, Jehovah maketh the land empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad its inhabitants. 2 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with him from whom usury is taken. 3 The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled; for Jehovah hath spoken this word. 4 The land mourneth, it fadeth away; the world languisheth, it fadeth away: the haughty people of the land do languish. 5 And the land is polluted under the inhabitants thereof; for they have violated the laws, changed the statute, broken the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore doth the curse devour the earth, and they that dwell therein are held guilty; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are consumed, and few men are left. 7 The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all that were merry-hearted do sigh; 8 the mirth of tambours ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. 9 They do not drink wine with a song; strong drink is bitter to them that drink it. 10 The city of solitude is broken down; every house is shut up, so that none entereth in. 11 There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone; 12 desolation remaineth in the city, and the gate is smitten,—a ruin.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Isaiah 24:1-12
Commentary on Isaiah 24:1-12
(Read Isaiah 24:1-12)
All whose treasures and happiness are laid up on earth, will soon be brought to want and misery. It is good to apply to ourselves what the Scripture says of the vanity and vexation of spirit which attend all things here below. Sin has turned the earth upside down; the earth is become quite different to man, from what it was when God first made it to be his habitation. It is, at the best, like a flower, which withers in the hands of those that please themselves with it, and lay it in their bosoms. The world we live in is a world of disappointment, a vale of tears; the children of men in it are but of few days, and full of trouble, See the power of God's curse, how it makes all empty, and lays waste all ranks and conditions. Sin brings these calamities upon the earth; it is polluted by the sins of men, therefore it is made desolate by God's judgments. Carnal joy will soon be at end, and the end of it is heaviness. God has many ways to imbitter wine and strong drink to those who love them; distemper of body, anguish of mind, and the ruin of the estate, will make strong drink bitter, and the delights of sense tasteless. Let men learn to mourn for sin, and rejoice in God; then no man, no event, can take their joy from them.