(11) And of whom hast thou been afraid . . .?—The question implies that Judah had been led by the fear of man to forsake the fear of Jehovah, and this had led her to what was, in the fullest sense of the word, the false step of an alliance with Assyria, which was an acted lie.

Have I not held my peace . . .?—The words suggest, half-pityingly, the cause of the people’s little faith. From “of old,” i.e., during the period that preceded the captivity, or perhaps in the dark time of Manasseh, Jehovah had been silent, and His long- suffering had been mistaken for apathy, and therefore the people had not feared Him.

Isaiah 57:11-14. Of whom hast thou been afraid, &c. — And what, or who are they, the fear of whom drives thee to these wicked and desperate practices? Are they not weak and mortal creatures, such as wholly depend upon me, and can do nothing without me? The fear of my displeasure ought, in all reason, to outweigh all thy other fears and apprehensions, and deter thee from breaking that covenant whereby thou art engaged to me. That thou hast lied — That thou hast dealt thus perfidiously with me, and sought for such foreign assistances contrary to my command. And hast not remembered me — Hast forgotten all those great things which I have done for thee, and all those promises which I have made to thee. Nor laid it to thy heart — Or, nor set me upon thy heart: hast not seriously and affectionately considered what I am, how all-sufficient, faithful, and gracious: for then thou wouldest not have distrusted or disobeyed me. Have I not held my peace, &c. — The Bishops’ Bible, published under Queen Elizabeth, translates the clause thus: Is it not because I held my peace, and that of a long time, therefore thou fearest me not? Sinners take encouragement to continue in sin, from God’s patience and long-suffering. I will declare thy righteousness — I will no longer be silent, but “will show thee thy deserts, and give thee a view of thy deeds, which then will appear quite of another sort than what thy own self-conceit makes thee believe them to be.” For they shall not profit thee — These actions shall be of no real advantage, but quite the contrary. When those criest — Namely, unto me for deliverance; let thy companies deliver thee — Expect it, not from me, whom thou hast forsaken and despised, but from those foreign troops, to which thou hast sought and trusted for succour. But the wind shall carry them all away — They shall be so far from saving thee, that they shall not be able to deliver themselves; but shall be carried away suddenly and violently by the blast of mine anger. Vanity shall take them — Their endeavours to help thee shall be vain and fruitless. But he that putteth his trust in me — Those that still depend upon me, and make use of none of those indirect means to preserve themselves; shall possess the land —

Shall be preserved in, or restored to, their own land, or shall have temporal blessings as far as will be good for them; and shall inherit my holy mountain — Shall enjoy my favour and presence in my temple: shall be blessed with the privileges of the church on earth, and brought at length to the joys of heaven. And shall say — Hebrew, and he shall say: or, and one shall say: God shall raise up one who shall say, with authority and efficacy, Cast ye up, &c. — Make causeways, where it is needful, for the safe and easy passage of my people, and remove all things which may hinder them in their return.

57:3-12 The Lord here calls apostates and hypocrites to appear before him. When reproved for their sins, and threatened with judgments, they ridiculed the word of God. The Jews were guilty of idolatry before the captivity; but not after that affliction. Their zeal in the worship of false gods, may shame our indifference in the worship of the true God. The service of sin is disgraceful slavery; those who thus debase themselves to hell, will justly have their portion there. Men incline to a religion that inflames their unholy passions. They are led to do any evil, however great or vile, if they think it will atone for crimes, or purchase indulgence for some favourite lust. This explains idolatry, whether pagan, Jewish, or antichristian. But those who set up anything instead of God, for their hope and confidence, never will come to a right end. Those who forsake the only right way, wander in a thousand by-paths. The pleasures of sin soon tire, but never satisfy. Those who care not for the word of God and his providences, show they have no fear of God. Sin profits not; it ruins and destroys.And of whom hast thou been afraid - The sense of this verse is exceedingly obscure. The design is evidently to reprove the Jews for the course which they had been pursuing in practicing idolatry, and in seeking the alliance of foreign powers. The main scope of the passage seems to be, to state that all this was proof that they did not fear God. Their conduct did not originate from any reverence for him, or any respect to his commands. And the question, 'of whom hast thou been afraid?' seems to mean that they had not been afraid of God. If they had had any reverence for any being or object that had led to the course which they had pursued, it was not for God.

That thou hast lied - That thou hast been false and unfaithful to God. The image is here kept up of unfaithfulness to the marriage vow Isaiah 57:6-8.

And hast not remembered me - The proof of this was, that they had fallen into idolatry, and had sought the alliance and friendship of foreign powers.

Have not I held my peace - The idea here seems to be, that God had been silent a long time, and they had, therefore, been emboldened to sin. He had, as it were, connived at their apostasy and infidelity; and they had thus cast off the fear of him, and given themselves wholly to idolatry. Compare Ecclesiastes 8:11.

11. Israel wished not to seem altogether to have denied God. Therefore they "lied" to Him. God asks, Why dost thou do so? "Whom dost thou fear? Certainly not Me; for thou hast not remembered Me." Translate, "seeing that thou hast not remembered Me."

laid it to … heart—rather, "nor hast Me at heart"; hast no regard for Me; and that, because I have been long silent and have not punished thee. Literally, "Have I not held My peace, and that for long? and so thou fearest Me not" (Ps 50:21; Ec 8:11). It would be better openly to renounce God, than to "flatter Him" with lies of false professions (Ps 78:36) [Ludovicus De Dieu]. However, Isa 51:12, 13 favors English Version of the whole verse; God's "silent" long-suffering, which was intended to lead them to repentance, caused them "not to fear Him" (Ro 2:4, 5).

And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared? and what or who are they the fear of whom drives thee to these wicked and desperate courses? Are they not men, weak and mortal creatures, such as wholly depend upon me, and can do nothing to thee either against me or without me?

That thou hast lied; that thou hast dealt thus disloyally and perfidiously with me, and sought for such foreign assistances, contrary to my command, and thy solemn covenant,

and hast not remembered me: hast thou forgotten all those great things which I have done for thee, and all those promises which I have made to thee, and constantly performed, when thou hast not grossly violated the conditions upon which they were made?

Nor laid it to thy heart; or thus, nor set me upon thine heart, as these very words are rendered, Song of Solomon 8:6. And so this is a repetition of what is said in the foregoing clause in other words. The sense is, Thou hast not seriously and affectionately considered what I am, how all-sufficient, and faithful, and gracious, for then thou wouldst not have distrusted or disobeyed me.

Have not I held my peace even of old? have not I forborne to reprove and punish thee for this and for other sins, from time to time, ever since thou wast my people, that by this goodness I might oblige thee to love me, and to cleave unto me?

And thou fearest me not; or, therefore thou dost not fear or regard me. Thus thou abusest mine indulgence and long-suffering, taking occasion from thence to despise me.

And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied,.... By assuming the name of Christian, when it did not belong to her; as it does not to the church of Rome which is antichristian: this lie is told, not out of any fear of God, or reverence of Christ; for she has no fear or reverence of either; but to serve a purpose, to blind the eyes of men under the Christian name, and, with a pretence to serve the cause of Christianity, to get all Christendom under her power:

and hast not remembered me; or, "for thou hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart?" or, "put me upon thy heart" (x); had no regard to Christ, nor had true faith in him, nor love to him; but all the reverse; degraded him in his offices, corrupted his doctrines, ordinances, and worship. The Targum is,

"and hast not remembered my worship, nor put my fear upon thy heart:''

and have not held my peace even of old, and thou fearest me not or, "therefore thou fearest me not" (y); because as yet the vials of God's wrath are not poured out, or his judgment inflicted on antichrist; but, ever since he began to reign, he has enjoyed great prosperity; therefore he fears not God, nor regards man; but says, "I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow", Revelation 18:7.

(x) "nam mei non es recordata, neque posuisti me super cor tuum", Grotius. (y) "idcirco me non times", Calvin, Piscator, Gataker.

And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast {n} lied, and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart? have not I held my peace even of {o} old, and thou fearest me not?

(n) Broken promises with me.

(o) Meaning, that the wicked abuse God's leniency, and grow to further wickedness.