Matthew Henry Commentary Isaiah 24:16-23

"From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs: Glory to the righteous. But I said, I pine away, I pine away, woe is me! the treacherous have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous have dealt very treacherously. Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth. And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble. The earth is utterly broken, the earth is rent asunder, the earth is shaken violently. The earth shall stagger like a drunken man, and shall sway to and fro like a hammock; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall, and not rise again. And it shall come to pass in that day, that Jehovah will punish the host of the high ones on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison; and after many days shall they be visited. Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed; for Jehovah of hosts will reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem; and before his elders shall be glory." — Isaiah 24:16-23 (ASV)

Believers may be driven into the farthest parts of the earth, but they are singing, not sighing. Here is terror for sinners; the prophet laments the miseries he saw breaking in like a torrent and the small number of believers. He foresees that sin would abound. The meaning is plain: evil pursues sinners.

Unsteady and uncertain are all these things. Worldly men think to dwell in the earth as in a palace or a castle, but it shall be removed like a cottage, like a lodge put up for the night. It shall fall and not rise again.

But there shall be new heavens and a new earth, in which nothing but righteousness shall dwell.

Sin is a burden to the whole creation; it is a heavy burden, under which it groans now and will sink at last.

The high ones, who are puffed up with their grandeur, who think themselves out of the reach of danger—God will visit them for their pride and cruelty.

Let us judge nothing before the time, though some shall be visited. None in this world should be secure, though their condition be ever so prosperous; nor does anyone need to despair, though their condition be ever so deplorable. God will be glorified in all this. But the mystery of Providence is not yet finished.

The ruin of the Redeemer's enemies must make way for His kingdom, and then the Sun of Righteousness will appear in full glory. Happy are those who take warning from the sentence against others; every impenitent sinner will sink under his transgression and rise no more, while believers enjoy everlasting bliss.