The wail of a true patriot on the moral corruptions of his country.
"Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first ripe fruit," etc. In these verses the prophet bewails the moral condition of his country. The picture he draws of its wickedness is a very hideous one. It answers not only to the character of the people in the reign of Ahaz, but to their character under the reign of other kings and in other times. Take the words as presenting the wail of a true patriot over the moral corruptions of his country. "Woe is me!" etc. He means to say, "It is with me as one seeking fruit after the harvest, grapes after the vintage; there is not one cluster." There are several things that he bemoans.
I. THE DEPARTURE OF EXCELLENCE FROM HIS COUNTRY. "The good man is perished out of the earth." Who are the good men referred to here is not known. The statement is put in general terms, and may imply merely that there are no good men to be found in the country. Or do the words, as some think, point especially to Hezekiah, Josiah, or to good men unknown to fame? They had, however, departed. Whether they had emigrated to distant lands or gone into the great eternity, is not said. The latter is the more probable idea. In any case, the departure of such men is a great loss—a loss which true patriots may well bemoan. Good men are the "lights of the world." They are the "salt of the earth." Their influence penetrates the mass, counteracts its tendency to corruption, removes its moral insipidity, gives it a new spirit—a spirit pungent and savoury. They are the conservators of the good and the peaceful reformers of the bad. "Perished out of the earth." It does not say, "perished out of being." They had left the land, but not the universe. They were thinking, feeling, active still. There is a sense, indeed, in which they could not perish out of the land. Good men leave behind them principles, ideas, a character, which will live and spread and work to the end of time.
II. THE RAMPANCY OF AVARICE IN HIS COUNTRY. The workings of avarice are Indicated in the latter end of the second and two following verses.
1. Here we have its working amongst the general community. "They all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net." To get wealth for themselves was with them such a furious passion, that the rights and lives of others were disregarded. Their avarice was as ravenous as the passion of a wild beast. Nay, they looked upon men only as victims for their prey. Does not this avarice work thus in English society? Man has come to value man just in proportion as he can render him service, enrich his exchequer, and advance his aggrandizement. What nets are spread out in every street, in every mart and office, in every journal, in order to catch men! "They hunt every man."
2. Here we have its working amongst the higher classes. "That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up." The idea seems to be this—that the "great man," the "prince," for some corrupt motive, seeks the condemnation of some innocent person; and the "judge," for a bribe, gratifies his wish. A judge from avarice will pronounce an innocent man guilty. All this is done very industriously "with two hands." The business must be despatched as soon as possible, lest some event should start up to thwart them; and when it is done "they wrap it up." "So they wrap it up." Avarice, like all sinful passions, seeks to wrap up its crimes. But the Authorized Version is probably wrong, and the rendering should be "they weave it together," i.e. join in plotting (see Exposition).
III. THE MISCHIEVOUSNESS OF THE BEST IN HIS COUNTRY. "The best of them is as a briar: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge." There is a gradation of wickedness of the men in the country, but the best of them is like a prickly thorn and worse than a thorn hedge. The prophet is so struck with this that the thought of retribution takes hold of him, and he says, "The day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity."
IV. THE LACK OF TRUTHFULNESS IN THE COUNTRY. "Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide," etc. "Place no faith in a companion; trust not a familiar friend; from her that lieth in thy bosom guard the doors of thy mouth. For the son despiseth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man's enemies are the members of his own family" (Henderson). All social faith was gone; a man had lost all confidence in his brother. social scepticism and suspicion prevailed in all circles. No faith was to be put in a friend. The very lips were to be sealed. No confidence in the wife, no longer was she to be treated as an object of trust. No confidence in the son, the daughter, or the mother. The nearest relations were counted as enemies, "A man's enemies are the men of his own house."
CONCLUSION. Such were the evils over which this patriotic prophet pours forth his lamentations. What right-hearted man would not bewail such a moral corruption in his country? Jeremiah said, "Oh that mine head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night!" etc. Paul said, "Would that I were accursed!" etc. Christ said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem!" etc. It is the characteristic of a true patriot that he feels a deeper concern for the moral state of his country than for its educational or commercial condition.—D.T.