Matthew Henry Commentary Isaiah 1:1-9

"The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for Jehovah hath spoken: I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master`s crib; [but] Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, children that deal corruptly! they have forsaken Jehovah, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are estranged [and gone] backward. Why will ye be still stricken, that ye revolt more and more? the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; [but] wounds, and bruises, and fresh stripes: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with oil. Your country is desolate; your cities are burned with fire; your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. And the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Except Jehovah of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, we should have been like unto Gomorrah." — Isaiah 1:1-9 (ASV)

Isaiah signifies, "The salvation of the Lord"—a very suitable name for this prophet, who prophesies so much about Jesus the Savior and His salvation. God's professing people did not know or consider that they owed their lives and comforts to God's fatherly care and kindness. How many are very careless in the affairs of their souls!

Not considering what we do know in religion is as harmful to us as ignorance of what we should know. The wickedness was universal. Here is a comparison taken from a sick and diseased body. The disease threatens to be mortal. From the sole of the foot even to the head; from the lowliest peasant to the greatest peer, there is no soundness—no good principle, no religion, for that is the health of the soul.

Nothing but guilt and corruption; the sad effects of Adam's fall. This passage declares the total depravity of human nature. While sin remains unrepented, nothing is done toward healing these wounds and preventing fatal effects. Jerusalem was exposed and unprotected, like the huts or sheds built to guard ripening fruits. These are still to be seen in the East, where fruits form a large part of the summer food of the people.

But the Lord had a small remnant of pious servants at Jerusalem. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. The evil nature is in every one of us; only Jesus and His sanctifying Spirit can restore us to spiritual health.