16 From the ends of the earth we hear songs , " Glory to the Righteous One ," But I say , " Woe to me! Woe to me! Alas for me! The treacherous deal treacherously , And the treacherous deal very treacherously ." 17 Terror and pit and snare Confront you, O inhabitant of the earth . 18 Then it will be that he who flees the report of disaster will fall into the pit , And he who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the snare ; For the windows above e are opened , and the foundations of the earth shake . 19 The earth is broken asunder , The earth is split through , The earth is shaken violently . 20 The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard And it totters like a shack , For its transgression is heavy upon it, And it will fall , never to rise again . 21 So it will happen in that day , That the Lord will punish the host of heaven on high , And the kings of the earth on earth . 22 They will be gathered together Like prisoners in the dungeon , And will be confined in prison ; And after many days they will be punished . 23 Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed , For the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem , And His glory will be before His elders .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Isaiah 24:16-23
Commentary on Isaiah 24:16-23
(Read Isaiah 24:16-23)
Believers may be driven into the uttermost parts of the earth; but they are singing, not sighing. Here is terror to sinners; the prophet laments the miseries he saw breaking in like a torrent; and the small number of believers. He foresees that sin would abound. The meaning is plain, that evil pursues sinners. Unsteady, uncertain are all these things. Worldly men think to dwell in the earth as in a palace, as in a castle; but it shall be removed like a cottage, like a lodge put up for the night. It shall fall and not rise again; but there shall be new heavens and a new earth, in which shall dwell nothing but righteousness. Sin is a burden to the whole creation; it is a heavy burden, under which it groans now, and will sink at last. The high ones, that are puffed up with their grandeur, that think themselves out of the reach of danger, God will visit for their pride and cruelty. Let us judge nothing before the time, though some shall be visited. None in this world should be secure, though their condition be ever so prosperous; nor need any despair, though their condition be ever so deplorable. God will be glorified in all this. But the mystery of Providence is not yet finished. The ruin of the Redeemer's enemies must make way for his kingdom, and then the Sun of Righteousness will appear in full glory. Happy are those who take warning by the sentence against others; every impenitent sinner will sink under his transgression, and rise no more, while believers enjoy everlasting bliss.