‏ Isaiah 13

* The armies of God's wrath. (1-5) The conquest of Babylon.

(6-18) Its final desolation. (19-22)

1-5 The threatenings of God's word press heavily upon the

wicked, and are a sore burden, too heavy for them to bear. The

persons brought together to lay Babylon waste, are called God's

sanctified or appointed ones; designed for this service, and

made able to do it. They are called God's mighty ones, because

they had their might from God, and were now to use it for him.

They come from afar. God can make those a scourge and ruin to

his enemies, who are farthest off, and therefore least dreaded. 6-18 We have here the terrible desolation of Babylon by the

Medes and Persians. Those who in the day of their peace were

proud, and haughty, and terrible, are quite dispirited when

trouble comes. Their faces shall be scorched with the flame. All

comfort and hope shall fail. The stars of heaven shall not give

their light, the sun shall be darkened. Such expressions are

often employed by the prophets, to describe the convulsions of

governments. God will visit them for their iniquity,

particularly the sin of pride, which brings men low. There shall

be a general scene of horror. Those who join themselves to

Babylon, must expect to share her plagues, #Re 18:4|. All that

men have, they would give for their lives, but no man's riches

shall be the ransom of his life. Pause here and wonder that men

should be thus cruel and inhuman, and see how corrupt the nature

of man is become. And that little infants thus suffer, which

shows that there is an original guilt, by which life is

forfeited as soon as it is begun. The day of the Lord will,

indeed, be terrible with wrath and fierce anger, far beyond all

here stated. Nor will there be any place for the sinner to flee

to, or attempt an escape. But few act as though they believed

these things. 19-22 Babylon was a noble city; yet it should be wholly

destroyed. None shall dwell there. It shall be a haunt for wild

beasts. All this is fulfilled. The fate of this proud city is a

proof of the truth of the Bible, and an emblem of the

approaching ruin of the New Testament Babylon; a warning to

sinners to flee from the wrath to come, and it encourages

believers to expect victory over every enemy of their souls, and

of the church of God. The whole world changes and is liable to

decay. Wherefore let us give diligence to obtain a kingdom which

cannot be moved; and in this hope let us hold fast that grace

whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly

fear.