Matthew Henry Commentary Isaiah 27:1-5

"In that day Jehovah with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan the swift serpent, and leviathan the crooked serpent; and he will slay the monster that is in the sea. In that day: A vineyard of wine, sing ye unto it. I Jehovah am its keeper; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day. Wrath is not in me: would that the briers and thorns were against me in battle! I would march upon them, I would burn them together. Or else let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; [yea], let him make peace with me." — Isaiah 27:1-5 (ASV)

The Lord Jesus, with his strong sword, the power of his death, and the preaching of his gospel, does destroy and will destroy the one who had the power of death, that is, the devil, that old serpent. The world is a fruitless, worthless wilderness, but the church is a vineyard, a place that is tended with great care and from which precious fruits are gathered. God will keep it in the night of affliction and persecution, and in the day of peace and prosperity, the temptations of which are no less dangerous.

God also takes care of the fruitfulness of this vineyard. We need the continual waterings of Divine grace; if these are ever withdrawn, we wither and come to nothing. Though God sometimes contends with his people, he graciously waits to be reconciled to them. It is true, when he finds briers and thorns instead of vines, and they are arrayed against him, he will tread them down and burn them.

Here is a summary of the doctrine of the gospel, with which the church is to be watered every moment. Ever since sin first entered, there has been, on God's part, a righteous quarrel, but on man's part, a most unrighteous one. Here is a gracious invitation given. Pardoning mercy is called the power of our Lord; let us take hold of that.

Christ crucified is the power of God. Let us by lively faith take hold of his strength, who is a strength to the needy, believing there is no other name by which we can be saved, just as a man who is sinking catches hold of a bough, cord, or plank that is within his reach. This is the only way, and it is a sure way, to be saved. God is willing to be reconciled to us.