331 Woe to you, O destroyer , While you were not destroyed ; And he who is treacherous , while others did not deal treacherously with him. As soon as you finish destroying , you will be destroyed ; As soon as you cease to deal treacherously , others will deal treacherously with you. 2 O Lord , be gracious to us; we have waited for You. Be their strength every morning , Our salvation also in the time of distress . 3 At the sound of the tumult peoples flee ; At the lifting up of Yourself nations disperse . 4 Your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers ; As locusts rushing about men rush about on it. 5 The Lord is exalted , for He dwells on high ; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness . 6 And He will be the stability of your times , A wealth of salvation , wisdom and knowledge ; The fear of the Lord is his treasure . 7 Behold , their brave men cry in the streets , The ambassadors of peace weep bitterly . 8 The highways are desolate , the traveler has ceased , He has broken the covenant , he has despised the cities , He has no regard for man . 9 The land mourns and pines away , Lebanon is shamed and withers ; Sharon is like a desert plain , And Bashan and Carmel lose their foliage. 10 "Now I will arise ," says the Lord , "Now I will be exalted , now I will be lifted up. 11 "You have conceived chaff , you will give birth to stubble ; My breath will consume you like a fire . 12 "The peoples will be burned to lime , Like cut thorns which are burned in the fire .
13 "You who are far away , hear what I have done ; And you who are near , acknowledge My might ." 14 Sinners in Zion are terrified ; Trembling has seized the godless . "Who among us can live with the consuming fire ? Who among us can live with continual burning ?"
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Isaiah 33:1-14
Commentary on Isaiah 33:1-14
(Read Isaiah 33:1-14)
Here we have the proud and false destroyer justly reckoned with for all his fraud and violence. The righteous God often pays sinners in their own coin. Those who by faith humbly wait for God, shall find him gracious to them; as the day, so let the strength be. If God leaves us to ourselves any morning, we are undone; we must every morning commit ourselves to him, and go forth in his strength to do the work of the day. When God arises, his enemies are scattered. True wisdom and knowledge lead to strength of salvation, which renders us stedfast in the ways of God; and true piety is the only treasure which can never be plundered or spent. The distress Jerusalem was brought into, is described. God's time to appear for his people, is, when all other helpers fail. Let all who hear what God has done, acknowledge that he can do every thing. Sinners in Zion will have much to answer for, above other sinners. And those that rebel against the commands of the word, cannot take its comforts in time of need. His wrath will burn those everlastingly who make themselves fuel for it. It is a fire that shall never be quenched, nor ever go out of itself; it is the wrath of an ever-living God preying on the conscience of a never-dying soul.