There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.
Those who persist in wickedness have no peace from the Lord, especially when they have received repeated truth and warnings yet stubbornly reject them and resist His Spirit. Seeking freedom by casting aside His law does not bring rest or true liberty, but brings misery, distress and ruin, while those who fear God and love and keep His law have great peace and find His service a pleasure. Transgression inevitably works out its own punishment even when judgment is delayed, as France showed when public rejection of God and His law was followed by disorder, suffering and the collapse of religion, law, family and government. It is therefore wrong to assure those continuing in evil that they are at peace with God, and the false rest must be met with plain warning and the call to take Christ's yoke and learn His meekness and lowliness.
Meaning in Its Setting
As the close of Isaiah 48, the declaration is that continuance in wickedness leaves a person without peace from the Lord. It applies to those who have had truth and warnings repeatedly set before them yet have stubbornly refused them. The same refusal shows itself in hindering God's work by falsehood and heresy and in turning away from the appeals of the Spirit. God places before the world two classes, and those who seek freedom by throwing off His law belong to the class that has no peace. That desire for lawlessness has made the world corrupt as in the days of Noah and polluted as Sodom and Gomorrah. God still bears with such rejecters for the honor of His name, but they must repent and turn from their evil ways if they are to receive His mercy.
Consequences of Wickedness
There is no peace for the wicked because turning away from God's law to be free of its restraint does not give rest or true liberty or well-being, but brings misery and distress and ruin. In contrast, those who fear God and love and keep His law have great peace, and find His service a pleasure that expresses love for Him. Transgression unfailingly works out misery and ruin even when judgment is delayed, for the wicked reap what they have chosen and wickedness works out its own punishment.
France's public casting off of God and the Bible and His law shows this on the scale of a nation. The Reign of Terror that followed made the consequences of rebellion visible in disorder and suffering and in the collapse of religion and law and social order and family and government, until the nation reaped its fruits. That violence was the misery of casting aside the divine statutes, not the product of true freedom. When the nation cast off the restraints of God's law, the resulting disorder and suffering proved that human well-being depends on obedience to God.
The service of Satan brings only wretchedness and misery and distress, leaving the sinner a stranger to repose and rest. Christ took humanity with its humiliation and service in order to cut men loose as bond slaves from Satan's chariot. Those who cherish variance and strife and bitterness and close the heart to the Holy Spirit have no true peace. What rest they find is false, without pardon, because they refuse to take Christ's yoke and learn His meekness and lowliness, and when adversity comes its insecurity is exposed as leaning on a broken reed. Those who remain unconverted and turn from God to corrupt or worldly pleasures cannot have the peace that belongs to a life with God.
The decree of no peace reaches even into the natural world through Adam's transgression. God forbade the earth to carry out the purpose He originally designed for it, so all nature is confused and His curse rests upon all creation and is felt more decidedly every year. When men defy God and the laws of nature, their indulgences become instruments of death and nature's blessings can turn into destructive forces. God does not work a miracle to make evil produce good, but lets nature answer wrongdoing under the laws He has established. He delays the final outpouring of wrath for the benefit of the righteous, whose hearts are right with Him and who can rely on Him for defense in the time of trouble.
Warning and Response
There is no peace for the wicked by God's own declaration, and to claim peace for those persisting in evil is forbidden by that word. To gloss over the sins of His people and assure them of peace contradicts what He has said. To promise sinners peace and prosperity when judgment has been declared, or to minimize their sins in order to reassure them, likewise contradicts the truth and only strengthens them in resisting correction. It is therefore not right to assure the wicked that they are at peace with God. The warning is to be spoken plainly, so that those who hear it may tremble at God's word.
This declaration belongs with Isaiah 48, 51, 52, 58, and 60 as chapters to be carried in mind to stir souls. It joins the call to make the commandments of God the great subject now, and to seek the Lord and do the works that are essential to be done. It also joins the call to give enemies no opportunity for questioning doubts about the work God is doing through the testimonies, and to avoid giving selves into the hands of the enemy without the spiritual strength that is needed.
Those who cherish variance, strife, and bitterness and close the heart to the Holy Spirit have no true peace. Their satisfaction is only a false rest without pardon, because they refuse to take Christ's yoke and learn His meekness and lowliness. When adversity comes its insecurity is exposed as leaning on a broken reed, and that false rest must be corrected by a solemn work of responsibility and accountability. Dissension marks those not chosen by the Lord, while those who profess to represent Christ must maintain peace and unity among themselves. In this way they present the unity Christ prayed for and witness that God sent Christ to redeem the world.
Those who persist in wickedness have no peace from the Lord, especially when they have received repeated truth and warnings yet stubbornly reject them and resist His Spirit. Seeking freedom by casting aside His law does not bring rest or true liberty, but brings misery, distress and ruin, while those who fear God and love and keep His law have great peace and find His service a pleasure. Transgression inevitably works out its own punishment even when judgment is delayed, as France showed when public rejection of God and His law was followed by disorder, suffering and the collapse of religion, law, family and government. It is therefore wrong to assure those continuing in evil that they are at peace with God, and the false rest must be met with plain warning and the call to take Christ's yoke and learn His meekness and lowliness.
Meaning in Its Setting
As the close of Isaiah 48, the declaration is that continuance in wickedness leaves a person without peace from the Lord. It applies to those who have had truth and warnings repeatedly set before them yet have stubbornly refused them. The same refusal shows itself in hindering God's work by falsehood and heresy and in turning away from the appeals of the Spirit. God places before the world two classes, and those who seek freedom by throwing off His law belong to the class that has no peace. That desire for lawlessness has made the world corrupt as in the days of Noah and polluted as Sodom and Gomorrah. God still bears with such rejecters for the honor of His name, but they must repent and turn from their evil ways if they are to receive His mercy.
Consequences of Wickedness
There is no peace for the wicked because turning away from God's law to be free of its restraint does not give rest or true liberty or well-being, but brings misery and distress and ruin. In contrast, those who fear God and love and keep His law have great peace, and find His service a pleasure that expresses love for Him. Transgression unfailingly works out misery and ruin even when judgment is delayed, for the wicked reap what they have chosen and wickedness works out its own punishment.
France's public casting off of God and the Bible and His law shows this on the scale of a nation. The Reign of Terror that followed made the consequences of rebellion visible in disorder and suffering and in the collapse of religion and law and social order and family and government, until the nation reaped its fruits. That violence was the misery of casting aside the divine statutes, not the product of true freedom. When the nation cast off the restraints of God's law, the resulting disorder and suffering proved that human well-being depends on obedience to God.
The service of Satan brings only wretchedness and misery and distress, leaving the sinner a stranger to repose and rest. Christ took humanity with its humiliation and service in order to cut men loose as bond slaves from Satan's chariot. Those who cherish variance and strife and bitterness and close the heart to the Holy Spirit have no true peace. What rest they find is false, without pardon, because they refuse to take Christ's yoke and learn His meekness and lowliness, and when adversity comes its insecurity is exposed as leaning on a broken reed. Those who remain unconverted and turn from God to corrupt or worldly pleasures cannot have the peace that belongs to a life with God.
The decree of no peace reaches even into the natural world through Adam's transgression. God forbade the earth to carry out the purpose He originally designed for it, so all nature is confused and His curse rests upon all creation and is felt more decidedly every year. When men defy God and the laws of nature, their indulgences become instruments of death and nature's blessings can turn into destructive forces. God does not work a miracle to make evil produce good, but lets nature answer wrongdoing under the laws He has established. He delays the final outpouring of wrath for the benefit of the righteous, whose hearts are right with Him and who can rely on Him for defense in the time of trouble.
Warning and Response
There is no peace for the wicked by God's own declaration, and to claim peace for those persisting in evil is forbidden by that word. To gloss over the sins of His people and assure them of peace contradicts what He has said. To promise sinners peace and prosperity when judgment has been declared, or to minimize their sins in order to reassure them, likewise contradicts the truth and only strengthens them in resisting correction. It is therefore not right to assure the wicked that they are at peace with God. The warning is to be spoken plainly, so that those who hear it may tremble at God's word.
This declaration belongs with Isaiah 48, 51, 52, 58, and 60 as chapters to be carried in mind to stir souls. It joins the call to make the commandments of God the great subject now, and to seek the Lord and do the works that are essential to be done. It also joins the call to give enemies no opportunity for questioning doubts about the work God is doing through the testimonies, and to avoid giving selves into the hands of the enemy without the spiritual strength that is needed.
Those who cherish variance, strife, and bitterness and close the heart to the Holy Spirit have no true peace. Their satisfaction is only a false rest without pardon, because they refuse to take Christ's yoke and learn His meekness and lowliness. When adversity comes its insecurity is exposed as leaning on a broken reed, and that false rest must be corrected by a solemn work of responsibility and accountability. Dissension marks those not chosen by the Lord, while those who profess to represent Christ must maintain peace and unity among themselves. In this way they present the unity Christ prayed for and witness that God sent Christ to redeem the world.