The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
All human life with its goodness, glory, beauty and earthly advantage is frail and short-lived like field grass and blossoms that wither and fade when the breath of the Lord passes over them, for the people are grass. Set against that transience, the word of God lives and abides forever, true and certain to be fulfilled. It stands in the charge to comfort God's people that their warfare is ended and their iniquity pardoned, to proclaim good tidings to Zion and Jerusalem to behold their God coming with strong hand and reward and shepherding His flock, and to prepare a people for Christ's appearing when every valley is exalted and the glory of the Lord is revealed. It belongs to the decided work of all engaged in the Lord's cause in the last days, the same work given to John the Baptist to call to repentance and prepare the way of the Lord for revival. Seen against God's greatness it removes self-importance and calls to humility, repentance and trust in the Lord alone rather than in men, ancestry or national privilege, while as fleshly traits wither and die they make room for the Holy Spirit, so that by the enduring Word received through the gospel the soul is purified, born again, and brought to fervent unfeigned love.
Frailty and Enduring Word
All flesh is grass, and all human goodness, glory, beauty, godliness and earthly advantage are like the flower of the field, frail, short-lived, temporary and perishable. The grass withers and the flower fades when the Spirit of the Lord, His breath, blows upon them, for surely the people is grass. Human life with all its beauty and all human glory are as brief and frail as grass and flowers, withering and fading under the Lord's power when His breath comes upon them.
Set against this human transience, the word of God stands forever, lives and abides forever, is true and will surely be fulfilled. Those who fulfill these words in the latter days place themselves where the Lord will surely do all He has promised, and the declaration is to be read with Isaiah 41-43 for encouragement amid afflicting judgments at the close of earth's history. The enduring Word stands beside the image of withering grass as the assurance that God's Word and will alone live and endure forever while human power is temporary.
The verse stands in the command to comfort God's people and to speak comfort to Jerusalem that her warfare is accomplished and her iniquity pardoned. It belongs with the proclamation of good tidings to Zion and Jerusalem to lift up the voice and say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God, coming with strong hand with His reward with Him. He feeds His flock like a shepherd who gathers the lambs and gently leads those that are with young. It belongs also to preparing a people for Christ's second appearing, when history is to be repeated and every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill made low and the crooked made straight and the rough places plain, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed with all flesh seeing it together.
The withering was illustrated when Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar, the richest and most powerful kingdom on earth, once thought stable and enduring, was broken, shattered and helpless when God's time came. Its power and magnificence passed away like a flower, showing that all that lacks God as its foundation perishes. Illustrious statesmen and rulers of highest intellect, worldly and ambitious, who refuse dependence on God and credit their own grandeur and exaltation with creating it, are brought to nothing by God's word when He speaks, like grass that grows and flowers that fade. Only what is bound up with His purpose and expresses His character can endure, showing the passing nature of human power and distinction.
Last-Days Message and Life
The verse belongs to the decided message to be borne by all truly engaged in the Lord's work in these last days, the same work given to John the Baptist to prepare the way of the Lord. It is part of the commanded cry in Isaiah 40, filled with instruction appropriate for this time, calling to repentance and to prepare the way for a revival of God's work. It shows human flesh and all its goodness to be perishable as grass and flowers that wither and fade because the Spirit of the Lord blows upon them, while the word of God stands forever, for surely the people is grass.
It comforts true believers amid God's afflicting judgments coming upon the world at the close of earth's history, including earthquakes, storms on land and sea, and heavy calamities on sea and railroads. While many who have greatly sinned perish physically, sincere, humble, righteous followers also feel the results coming upon the rebellious and are themselves afflicted. It stands as a declaration to be read with Isaiah 41-43 for encouragement, giving the correct meaning of true higher education, because the word of the Lord will certainly be fulfilled and those who fulfill these words in the latter days place themselves where the Lord will surely do all He has promised. It confirms God's sure mercies and grace and glory, and calls the discouraged to faith in God, to speak words of truth, to gain precious victories, and to give a message of faith and hope and assurance by talking faith and hope and courage.
In Isaiah 40:1-11 it gives the trumpet a certain sound where guidance and the deep moving of the Spirit are needed, as at Battle Creek, presenting the truth in its power as it is in Jesus with the mind stayed on God and imbued with His Holy Spirit. It is the affirmative of truth and the platform of eternal truth to stand on, to be presented without accusation and without anything that arouses enmity and strife. The chapter teaches those who give their hearts to the Lord and learn His will and ways to build experience on the pure principles of God's Word, not on worldly sophistries. The verse is to be read and prayed over to put away unbelief, giving daily counsel to be appreciated as light of the Word against commercialism woven into religious experience and bringing the refining influence of the Holy Spirit.
Seen against the grand scenes of nature this truth takes away human self-importance, humbles the heart, and overwhelms the mind with serious and solemn thoughts of God's greatness and majesty as the only Lord whose marvelous works call forth praise. It shows human life and earthly advantages to be temporary, like grass and flowers that wither and fade when the Spirit of the Lord blows upon them, calling people to humility and repentance as they prepare for the Lord's coming. Ancestry, national privilege, and self-exaltation cannot replace purity and obedience to God's commandments. No one is to trust in men or make human power their support, but to trust in the Lord alone, for the Lord is not to be trifled with and calls His people to diligent repentance and most earnest work, giving strength to His own people.
The natural, fleshly traits of the human heart conflict with Christ's character, and as those traits wither and die they make way for the Holy Spirit and room for Christ's grace. Received through the gospel, the enduring Word produces faith, purifies the soul, and helps remove evil traits of character, contrasting perishable human nature and glory with God's Word that lives and abides forever. By that incorruptible Word those who obey the truth through the Spirit are purified in soul and born again to unfeigned, fervent love. That new birth requires laying aside malice, guile, hypocrisies, envies and evil speakings, and as newborn babes desiring the sincere milk of the word to grow thereby, which requires examining life and character and cutting away every perverted appetite and taste such as love for fictitious reading for eternal interest before it is too late.
Human life and worldly glory, ambitions, projects and plans are temporary, fading like grass when the Lord's breath passes over them, and they perish, unlike the enduring work of those who turn many to righteousness. Human flesh passes away and its glory departs, but the Word of the Lord abides forever. Material loss is therefore temporary and may prove a blessing in disguise, so those chastened by the Lord should not faint but go straight forward, steadfastly endure the chastening, walk humbly before God, lift and carry the cross in order to wear the crown, and follow Christ more closely.
All human life with its goodness, glory, beauty and earthly advantage is frail and short-lived like field grass and blossoms that wither and fade when the breath of the Lord passes over them, for the people are grass. Set against that transience, the word of God lives and abides forever, true and certain to be fulfilled. It stands in the charge to comfort God's people that their warfare is ended and their iniquity pardoned, to proclaim good tidings to Zion and Jerusalem to behold their God coming with strong hand and reward and shepherding His flock, and to prepare a people for Christ's appearing when every valley is exalted and the glory of the Lord is revealed. It belongs to the decided work of all engaged in the Lord's cause in the last days, the same work given to John the Baptist to call to repentance and prepare the way of the Lord for revival. Seen against God's greatness it removes self-importance and calls to humility, repentance and trust in the Lord alone rather than in men, ancestry or national privilege, while as fleshly traits wither and die they make room for the Holy Spirit, so that by the enduring Word received through the gospel the soul is purified, born again, and brought to fervent unfeigned love.
Frailty and Enduring Word
All flesh is grass, and all human goodness, glory, beauty, godliness and earthly advantage are like the flower of the field, frail, short-lived, temporary and perishable. The grass withers and the flower fades when the Spirit of the Lord, His breath, blows upon them, for surely the people is grass. Human life with all its beauty and all human glory are as brief and frail as grass and flowers, withering and fading under the Lord's power when His breath comes upon them.
Set against this human transience, the word of God stands forever, lives and abides forever, is true and will surely be fulfilled. Those who fulfill these words in the latter days place themselves where the Lord will surely do all He has promised, and the declaration is to be read with Isaiah 41-43 for encouragement amid afflicting judgments at the close of earth's history. The enduring Word stands beside the image of withering grass as the assurance that God's Word and will alone live and endure forever while human power is temporary.
The verse stands in the command to comfort God's people and to speak comfort to Jerusalem that her warfare is accomplished and her iniquity pardoned. It belongs with the proclamation of good tidings to Zion and Jerusalem to lift up the voice and say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God, coming with strong hand with His reward with Him. He feeds His flock like a shepherd who gathers the lambs and gently leads those that are with young. It belongs also to preparing a people for Christ's second appearing, when history is to be repeated and every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill made low and the crooked made straight and the rough places plain, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed with all flesh seeing it together.
The withering was illustrated when Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar, the richest and most powerful kingdom on earth, once thought stable and enduring, was broken, shattered and helpless when God's time came. Its power and magnificence passed away like a flower, showing that all that lacks God as its foundation perishes. Illustrious statesmen and rulers of highest intellect, worldly and ambitious, who refuse dependence on God and credit their own grandeur and exaltation with creating it, are brought to nothing by God's word when He speaks, like grass that grows and flowers that fade. Only what is bound up with His purpose and expresses His character can endure, showing the passing nature of human power and distinction.
Last-Days Message and Life
The verse belongs to the decided message to be borne by all truly engaged in the Lord's work in these last days, the same work given to John the Baptist to prepare the way of the Lord. It is part of the commanded cry in Isaiah 40, filled with instruction appropriate for this time, calling to repentance and to prepare the way for a revival of God's work. It shows human flesh and all its goodness to be perishable as grass and flowers that wither and fade because the Spirit of the Lord blows upon them, while the word of God stands forever, for surely the people is grass.
It comforts true believers amid God's afflicting judgments coming upon the world at the close of earth's history, including earthquakes, storms on land and sea, and heavy calamities on sea and railroads. While many who have greatly sinned perish physically, sincere, humble, righteous followers also feel the results coming upon the rebellious and are themselves afflicted. It stands as a declaration to be read with Isaiah 41-43 for encouragement, giving the correct meaning of true higher education, because the word of the Lord will certainly be fulfilled and those who fulfill these words in the latter days place themselves where the Lord will surely do all He has promised. It confirms God's sure mercies and grace and glory, and calls the discouraged to faith in God, to speak words of truth, to gain precious victories, and to give a message of faith and hope and assurance by talking faith and hope and courage.
In Isaiah 40:1-11 it gives the trumpet a certain sound where guidance and the deep moving of the Spirit are needed, as at Battle Creek, presenting the truth in its power as it is in Jesus with the mind stayed on God and imbued with His Holy Spirit. It is the affirmative of truth and the platform of eternal truth to stand on, to be presented without accusation and without anything that arouses enmity and strife. The chapter teaches those who give their hearts to the Lord and learn His will and ways to build experience on the pure principles of God's Word, not on worldly sophistries. The verse is to be read and prayed over to put away unbelief, giving daily counsel to be appreciated as light of the Word against commercialism woven into religious experience and bringing the refining influence of the Holy Spirit.
Seen against the grand scenes of nature this truth takes away human self-importance, humbles the heart, and overwhelms the mind with serious and solemn thoughts of God's greatness and majesty as the only Lord whose marvelous works call forth praise. It shows human life and earthly advantages to be temporary, like grass and flowers that wither and fade when the Spirit of the Lord blows upon them, calling people to humility and repentance as they prepare for the Lord's coming. Ancestry, national privilege, and self-exaltation cannot replace purity and obedience to God's commandments. No one is to trust in men or make human power their support, but to trust in the Lord alone, for the Lord is not to be trifled with and calls His people to diligent repentance and most earnest work, giving strength to His own people.
The natural, fleshly traits of the human heart conflict with Christ's character, and as those traits wither and die they make way for the Holy Spirit and room for Christ's grace. Received through the gospel, the enduring Word produces faith, purifies the soul, and helps remove evil traits of character, contrasting perishable human nature and glory with God's Word that lives and abides forever. By that incorruptible Word those who obey the truth through the Spirit are purified in soul and born again to unfeigned, fervent love. That new birth requires laying aside malice, guile, hypocrisies, envies and evil speakings, and as newborn babes desiring the sincere milk of the word to grow thereby, which requires examining life and character and cutting away every perverted appetite and taste such as love for fictitious reading for eternal interest before it is too late.
Human life and worldly glory, ambitions, projects and plans are temporary, fading like grass when the Lord's breath passes over them, and they perish, unlike the enduring work of those who turn many to righteousness. Human flesh passes away and its glory departs, but the Word of the Lord abides forever. Material loss is therefore temporary and may prove a blessing in disguise, so those chastened by the Lord should not faint but go straight forward, steadfastly endure the chastening, walk humbly before God, lift and carry the cross in order to wear the crown, and follow Christ more closely.