But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
The wicked are like a restless sea that cannot settle, constantly churning and throwing up what is morally foul, evil and corrupt, and so they have no rest and no peace. This stands in contrast to God's promise to the humble and contrite in spirit, whom He dwells with, revives, heals, leads, comforts and gives peace whether far off or near. Sin has destroyed peace, for while self remains unsubdued the strong passions of the heart cannot be controlled by any human power. The wicked are those who continue in transgression of God's law rather than repenting in contrition, going on in their own way in covetousness and backsliding until iniquity separates them so He cannot speak peace to them. Deliverance comes only by turning to Jesus crying for rescue, for He who spoke peace to the waves of Galilee quiets the strife of human passion and brings the heart to rest in His love through obedience and submission of the will to God.
Troubled Sea Without Peace
The wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest, continually churning and casting up mire and dirt, which is what is morally foul, evil, turbulent, unclean and corrupt, and they have no rest and, as the next verse declares, no peace. Their restless lives keep throwing up mud and filth instead of good, revealing perversity persisted in rather than turned from. This defiled unrest stands opposite to God's promise to the humble and contrite in spirit, with whom He dwells and whom He revives after having seen their ways. To those who humble their hearts, confess and forsake sin and return to Him He gives healing and leading, comfort and restored comfort, answers to prayer, and created peace to him that is far off and to him that is near.
The fifty-seventh chapter, especially 57:13-20 and 57:15-19, means much to God's people and should be studied carefully and prayerfully to become wise unto salvation. Together with chapters 55, 56, 57 and 58 it gives comfort and encouragement, showing an open door to meet with God where He will be found by those who earnestly seek Him. It teaches that worth in God's sight comes not from being rich in worldly wealth but from being meek and contrite, whom the Lord acknowledges and honors, and it calls for the meekness Christ showed, humbling the heart before God and standing in right relation to Him.
In its setting the passage warns of sin among God's people, especially selfishness, covetousness, self-indulgence, lying and backsliding going frowardly in the way of the heart. For the iniquity of covetousness God's wrath is stirred so that He hides Himself and smites, and lack of means reveals the sin eating out their vitals. The call is to humble the heart by repentance, confession, forsaking of those sins and willingness to be converted and to purify every defiling sin from heart and character, with promise that He will have mercy and abundantly pardon. That healing and leading is greatly needed in Battle Creek and Oakland and in all churches where ministers and people have been led by men, depended on men, and turned from God to the counsel of men. God thus distinguishes the wicked from the righteous: the righteous receive peace and comfort in this life and everlasting glory in the life to come, while the wicked receive confusion and unrest now and everlasting shame.
Cause Cure and Application
Sin has destroyed peace, so while self remains unsubdued there is no rest. The strong, masterful passions of the heart cannot be controlled by any human power. People are as helpless to quiet themselves as the disciples were to quiet the raging storm, as every person's experience proves. The wicked are those who continue in transgression of the law rather than repenting in contrition, even though the sacrifice of Christ made obedience possible. They go on frowardly in covetousness, lying and backsliding, rejecting reproof and insisting on their own way. They nurse rebellion and remain separated by iniquities and sins, so God cannot speak peace to them, nor hear nor heal them, until they admit need, forsake their way and their thoughts, return to the Lord, and purify every defiling sin from heart and character, when He will have mercy and abundantly pardon.
This unrest takes the form of learning and indulging unbelief until it becomes habit and character and reaps a harvest of unbelief. That means having no faith in anything, no hope in God, and no power to exercise faith, seeing evil in all good and taint and deception upon everything of God and religion and the Bible, while longing for something tangible to lean upon. It takes the form of following error by twisting and misinterpreting Scripture, breaking the law that governs the soul and bringing sickness and death to the soul, losing the genuine peace of Christ from the heart. Where the Holy Spirit does not govern, impulse and passion rule, and Satan keeps the mind in constant agitation so that it casts up mire and dirt instead of bringing forth the peaceful fruits of righteousness. Life is then wasted in futile pursuit of happiness, and breaking God's law brings discord, misery and desolation.
Deliverance comes only by turning to Jesus crying for rescue. As He spoke peace to the waves of Galilee, He speaks peace to every soul, however fierce the inner tempest. His grace reconciles the soul to God, quiets the strife of human passion, and brings the heart to rest in His love. True happiness and inner peace come through obedience to God and submission of the will to Him, which earthly rulers cannot give to the soul.
The image applies to those who continually accuse and falsify those through whom God is working. It applies to people who give free rein to every passing feeling, becoming excessive in joy and grief, easily swept along by emotion and lacking inward stability and self-control, with indulged feeling becoming selfishness focused only on self. It describes the evil stirred up in children by habitual censure, where constant fault-finding discourages them and leads toward heedlessness and uncontrolled evil passions. It describes the world and the governments of earth today, whose corruption reveals rulers without God's wisdom, with confusion and perplexity everywhere. Men's theories and speculations bring only additional confusion, for God is left out of councils and human speech cannot replace His speaking.
The wicked are like a restless sea that cannot settle, constantly churning and throwing up what is morally foul, evil and corrupt, and so they have no rest and no peace. This stands in contrast to God's promise to the humble and contrite in spirit, whom He dwells with, revives, heals, leads, comforts and gives peace whether far off or near. Sin has destroyed peace, for while self remains unsubdued the strong passions of the heart cannot be controlled by any human power. The wicked are those who continue in transgression of God's law rather than repenting in contrition, going on in their own way in covetousness and backsliding until iniquity separates them so He cannot speak peace to them. Deliverance comes only by turning to Jesus crying for rescue, for He who spoke peace to the waves of Galilee quiets the strife of human passion and brings the heart to rest in His love through obedience and submission of the will to God.
Troubled Sea Without Peace
The wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest, continually churning and casting up mire and dirt, which is what is morally foul, evil, turbulent, unclean and corrupt, and they have no rest and, as the next verse declares, no peace. Their restless lives keep throwing up mud and filth instead of good, revealing perversity persisted in rather than turned from. This defiled unrest stands opposite to God's promise to the humble and contrite in spirit, with whom He dwells and whom He revives after having seen their ways. To those who humble their hearts, confess and forsake sin and return to Him He gives healing and leading, comfort and restored comfort, answers to prayer, and created peace to him that is far off and to him that is near.
The fifty-seventh chapter, especially 57:13-20 and 57:15-19, means much to God's people and should be studied carefully and prayerfully to become wise unto salvation. Together with chapters 55, 56, 57 and 58 it gives comfort and encouragement, showing an open door to meet with God where He will be found by those who earnestly seek Him. It teaches that worth in God's sight comes not from being rich in worldly wealth but from being meek and contrite, whom the Lord acknowledges and honors, and it calls for the meekness Christ showed, humbling the heart before God and standing in right relation to Him.
In its setting the passage warns of sin among God's people, especially selfishness, covetousness, self-indulgence, lying and backsliding going frowardly in the way of the heart. For the iniquity of covetousness God's wrath is stirred so that He hides Himself and smites, and lack of means reveals the sin eating out their vitals. The call is to humble the heart by repentance, confession, forsaking of those sins and willingness to be converted and to purify every defiling sin from heart and character, with promise that He will have mercy and abundantly pardon. That healing and leading is greatly needed in Battle Creek and Oakland and in all churches where ministers and people have been led by men, depended on men, and turned from God to the counsel of men. God thus distinguishes the wicked from the righteous: the righteous receive peace and comfort in this life and everlasting glory in the life to come, while the wicked receive confusion and unrest now and everlasting shame.
Cause Cure and Application
Sin has destroyed peace, so while self remains unsubdued there is no rest. The strong, masterful passions of the heart cannot be controlled by any human power. People are as helpless to quiet themselves as the disciples were to quiet the raging storm, as every person's experience proves. The wicked are those who continue in transgression of the law rather than repenting in contrition, even though the sacrifice of Christ made obedience possible. They go on frowardly in covetousness, lying and backsliding, rejecting reproof and insisting on their own way. They nurse rebellion and remain separated by iniquities and sins, so God cannot speak peace to them, nor hear nor heal them, until they admit need, forsake their way and their thoughts, return to the Lord, and purify every defiling sin from heart and character, when He will have mercy and abundantly pardon.
This unrest takes the form of learning and indulging unbelief until it becomes habit and character and reaps a harvest of unbelief. That means having no faith in anything, no hope in God, and no power to exercise faith, seeing evil in all good and taint and deception upon everything of God and religion and the Bible, while longing for something tangible to lean upon. It takes the form of following error by twisting and misinterpreting Scripture, breaking the law that governs the soul and bringing sickness and death to the soul, losing the genuine peace of Christ from the heart. Where the Holy Spirit does not govern, impulse and passion rule, and Satan keeps the mind in constant agitation so that it casts up mire and dirt instead of bringing forth the peaceful fruits of righteousness. Life is then wasted in futile pursuit of happiness, and breaking God's law brings discord, misery and desolation.
Deliverance comes only by turning to Jesus crying for rescue. As He spoke peace to the waves of Galilee, He speaks peace to every soul, however fierce the inner tempest. His grace reconciles the soul to God, quiets the strife of human passion, and brings the heart to rest in His love. True happiness and inner peace come through obedience to God and submission of the will to Him, which earthly rulers cannot give to the soul.
The image applies to those who continually accuse and falsify those through whom God is working. It applies to people who give free rein to every passing feeling, becoming excessive in joy and grief, easily swept along by emotion and lacking inward stability and self-control, with indulged feeling becoming selfishness focused only on self. It describes the evil stirred up in children by habitual censure, where constant fault-finding discourages them and leads toward heedlessness and uncontrolled evil passions. It describes the world and the governments of earth today, whose corruption reveals rulers without God's wisdom, with confusion and perplexity everywhere. Men's theories and speculations bring only additional confusion, for God is left out of councils and human speech cannot replace His speaking.