Isaiah 48:17, commentary and pictures

The Lord, the Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, speaks as God to His own people to teach them what is for their good and profit and to lead them in the way they should go. Listening to His commandments brings peace flowing like a river and righteousness rolling like the waves of the sea, marking the obedient apart from the disobedient. Prosperity, salvation, and success are found in Him and in Christ by trusting Him and looking to Him rather than to human wisdom, in humility, meekness, wholehearted obedience, and submission to the Holy Spirit. His way is the way of peace and happiness, while following personal inclination in self-confidence and self-sufficiency leads away from God, but going forward in His strength through obedience brings blessing, wisdom, refined character, and highest good. He keeps His eye upon the people He leads and instructs, so His messengers and workmen are to seek His direction and teaching at every step, and He Himself stands as teacher and stronghold to uphold the one to whom He gives work to do.

Teacher and Guiding Redeemer

The speaker is the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, thy God. He teaches his people what is for their good, profit and benefit, what is good and useful for them. He guides and leads them in the way they should go, in the right way. His teaching and leading are instruction to his people for what is good for them and direction for every step rather than their own judgment and will.

Hearkening to his commandments brings peace and righteousness. That peace is as a river, and that righteousness as the waves of the sea. If his people had listened to his commandments, they would have had that peace and righteousness.

By this teaching and leading he distinguishes the obedient from the disobedient. Those who heed his commandments receive peace and righteousness, and those who do not are set apart from them.

His patience with wayward Israel rests on his own name and glory, not on their righteousness or obedience, nor on that of their leaders. For his own name's sake he bears with them and refines them through affliction. In that refining he calls them to listen and obey.

Trusting and Following Guidance

Prosperity is found in him and in Christ, and depends on humility, meekness, wholehearted obedience and devotion to God. Trusting him and letting him lead brings salvation, while heeding his commandment brings peace and righteousness. He is a trustworthy guide to be looked to rather than relying on own wisdom, and following his direction and instruction for a right course leads to success. God works for his people when they submit to the Holy Spirit rather than trying to control the Spirit. The righteousness freely given in Christ fills those who hunger for it and submit themselves to his will.

Those who humbly search Scripture are taught by God what is good for them and led in the right way. Those who resist his warnings hinder his work and follow their own way. Yet if they repent and turn from evil they can become witnesses to his truth and monuments of his power and grace, for his work of redemption continues.

His way is the way of peace and happiness. Following own inclinations in self-confidence and self-sufficiency leads away from God, while obedience allows going forward in his strength and receiving his blessings. His guidance leads along the path of obedience to his commandments, which bring wisdom, refine and elevate character, and serve highest interests. As Christ kept the Father's commandments, those who follow him walk the same path of obedience.

He has a people whom he is leading and instructing, with his eye over them, teaching them what is good and leading them in the right way and in his will as they carry out his work. His messengers and workmen today are therefore to seek his direction and teaching at every step rather than follow their own judgment and will. They are to take counsel together so they can labor in harmony. Because he so leads and teaches, his instruction can be courageously repeated to brethren over and over again, even when not all fully comprehend it.

The verse shows the work to be done now in harmony with God and Christ, calling for united and determined soul-saving effort with no delay and no hindering voice. It calls for awakening to the condition of the world and for decided work in the cities with more workers, with talk and prayer and belief. It calls for means to be brought in to carry the work forward, with lay members who have means helping without delay, with girding on the armor and with reconsecration. It calls for doing the appointed work of proclaiming the message throughout the world as pointed out for the past twenty years, with resisting temptation to enter commercial enterprises instead of investing means in his work, and with studying Isaiah 48-52 while asking him for willingness to do his bidding.

He himself is teacher and stronghold to the one he gives work to do, teaching to profit, leading by the way to go, and standing at the right hand to uphold. Knowing him as teacher keeps from discouragement when many cut loose from the work given them. The call is to heed not those who cry of Christ here and there with new truth, new theories, new impressions and new principles about his coming, but to go straight forward without discouragement and without altering mission or work whatever course others take. He helps work the vein of gold and silver and bring out precious ore even after many think no more is to be had.