Isaiah 66:2

For the prophet says in the person of the Father, "My Hand made all these things," meaning by "Hand," in his dark saying, the power of the Only-begotten. Now the Apostle says that all things are of the Father, and that all things are by the Son, and the prophetic spirit in a way agrees with the Apostolic teaching, which itself also is given through the Spirit. For in the one passage, the prophet, when he says that all things are the work of the Hand of Him Who is over all, sets forth the nature of those things which have come into being in its relation to Him Who made them, while He Who made them is God over all, Who has the Hand, and by It makes all things. And again, in the other passage, the Apostle makes the same division of entities, making all things depend upon their productive cause, yet not reckoning in the number of "all things" that which produces them: so that we are hereby taught the difference of nature between the created and the uncreated, and it is shown that, in its own nature, that which makes is one thing and that which is produced is another.

In these terms God rejects the worship that was restricted to one place and shows that he is the maker of heaven and earth, and the shaper of all things and the one who has no need of a temple made with hands... I have …

With the altar and earthly temple removed, which human hands had built, the Jewish victims are rightly taken away, lest they should say: We are not so foolish as to think that God can be confined to a place; but in a separate place for sacrificing, we offer to God the victims that are commanded by the law. Therefore, the Inhabitant of heaven, indeed the Creator of all, who refuses to have a temple on earth, willingly assumes a humble, peaceful, and trembling human being into the temple, according to the words of the Apostle: But you are the temple of God, and the Holy Spirit dwells in you. If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which you are (I Cor. III, 16, 17). Therefore, whoever is humble and peaceful, and trembles at the words of God, the Lord looks upon him; and it can be understood from this saying that he is prophesied under the name of "earth": The earth trembled and was still when God arose to judge (Psal. LXXV, 9, 10). For its inhabitants, for whom the land is metaphorically called 'earth,' considering the judgment of God, they rest from evil works; and sitting in their house, they rest on the eternal Sabbath, so as not to engage in the servile work of sin. This is a humble and poor person, with a contrite spirit, and trembling at the words of the Lord, about whom it is written in the Gospel: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3). And elsewhere: Blessed is he who understands the needy and the poor (Psalm 41:1). And again: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor (Isaiah 61:1).

Let us therefore, brethren, be of humble mind, laying aside all haughtiness, and pride, and foolishness, and angry feelings; and let us act according to that which is written (for the Holy Spirit saith, "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, neither let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in the Lord, in diligently seeking Him, and doing judgment and righteousness" [Jeremiah 9:23-24]), being especially mindful of the words of the Lord Jesus which He spake, teaching us meekness and long-suffering. For thus He spoke: "Be ye merciful, that ye may obtain mercy; forgive, that it may be forgiven to you; as ye do, so shall it be done unto you; as ye judge, so shall ye be judged; as ye are kind, so shall kindness be shown to you; with what measure ye mete, with the same it shall be measured to you." [Matthew 5:7, Matthew 6:14, Matthew 7:1-2] By this precept and by these rules let us establish ourselves, that we walk with all humility in obedience to His holy words. For the holy word saith, "On whom shall I look, but on him that is meek and peaceable, and that trembleth at My words?" [Isaiah 66:2]

We must preserve in the straight and narrow road of praise and glory; and since peacefulness and humility and the tranquility of a good life are fitting for all Christians, according to the word of the Lord, who looks to no other person than "to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and that trembles at" his word, it the more behooves you confessors, who have been made an example to the rest of the brothers, to observe and fulfill this, as being those whose characters should provoke to imitation the life and conduct of all.

Grace makes a man pleasing to God: but he is pleasing to God who recognizes the gift of divine favor and condescension: yet no one recognizes this except one who is attentive to his own unworthiness: and such a one is truly humble: and hence …

The first benefit of the fear of God is that the fear of God avails for obtaining the influx of divine grace. Whence Isaiah: "To whom shall I look, except to the poor and contrite of spirit and the one trembling at my words?" However …

Differently to be admonished are the humble and the haughty. To the former it is to be insinuated how true is that excellence which they hold in hoping for it; to the latter it is to be intimated how that temporal glory is as nothing which even when embracing it they hold not. Let the humble hear how eternal are the things that they long for, how transitory the things which they despise; let the haughty hear how transitory are the things they court, how eternal the things they lose. Let the humble hear from the authoritative voice of the Truth, Every one that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Let the haughty hear, Every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled. Let the humble hear, Humility goeth before glory; let the haughty hear, The spirit is exalted before a fall. Let the humble hear, Unto whom shall I have respect, but to him that is humble and quiet, and that trembleth at my words?

"For heaven is his resting place and the earth his footstool," because on the earth he conversed in the flesh with men and women. And the sacred flesh of God has been called his foot. The church, too, is called the place of God, because we have set it apart for the glorifying of God as a sort of consecrated place wherein we also hold conversation with him. Likewise also the places in which his energy becomes manifest to us, whether through the flesh or apart from the flesh, are spoken of as the places of God.

And he gives a useful remedy: but to whom shall I have respect, but to him that is poor and little, that is, the humble man, who reckons himself to be little, as to the present, and of a contrite spirit, concerning his past sins, …

), here brings them a gracious message from him. The word of God has comforts in store for those that by true humiliation for sin are prepared to receive them.

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Such a heart is a living temple for God; he dwells there, and it is the place of his rest; it is like heaven and earth, his throne and his footstool. Sacrifices are slighted when they come from ungracious hands. The sacrifice of the wicked is not only unacceptable, but it is an abomination to the Lord ( Prov. xv.

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For all those things hath mine hand made,.... The heavens and the earth, which are his throne and footstool; and therefore, since he is the Creator of all things, he must be immense, omnipresent, and cannot be included in any space or place: and all those things have been, saith the Lord; or "are" (l); they are in being, and continue, and will, being supported by the hand that made them; and what then can be made by a creature? or what house be built for God? or what need of any? but to this man will I look.

And all those things have been “And all these things are mine” - A word absolutely necessary to the sense is here lost out of the text: לי li, mine. It is preserved by the Septuagint and Syriac.

have been--namely, made by Me. Or, absolutely, were things made; and therefore belong to Me, the Creator [JEROME]. look--have regard. poor--humble (Isa 57:15). trembleth at . . . word-- (2Ki 22:11, 19; The spiritual temple of the heart, though not superseding the outward place of worship, is God's favorite dwelling (Joh 14:23).

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THAT is an excellent answer which was given by a poor man to a skeptic who attempted to ridicule his faith. The scoffer said, "Pray Sir, is your God a great God or a little God?" The poor man replied, "Sir, my God is so great that the Heaven of heavens cannot contain Him and yet He condescends to be so little that He dwells in broken and contrite hearts." Oh, the greatness of God and the condescension of God!

THAT is an excellent answer which was given by a poor man to a skeptic who attempted to ridicule his faith. The scoffer said, "Pray Sir, is your God a great God or a little God?" The poor man replied, "Sir, my God is so great that the Heaven of heavens cannot contain Him and yet He condescends to be so little that He dwells in broken and contrite hearts." Oh, the greatness of God and the condescension of God! I hope we shall be led to think of both this evening while we meditate upon the Words of the text. We have no time nor need of a preface. The text first of all teaches us that God rejects all material temples as the places of His abode. But, secondly, it informs us that God has made a choice of spiritual temples where He will dwell. I. First of all, then, let us think a little of GOD'S REJECTION OF ALL MATERIAL TEMPLES. There was a time when it could be said that there was a House of God on earth. That was a time of symbols, when as yet the Church of God was in her childhood. She was being taught her A B Cs, reading her picture books, for she could not as yet read the Word of God, as it were, in letters. She had need to have pictures put before her, patterns of the heavenly things. Then, even then, the enlightened among the Jews knew right well that God did not dwell between curtains and that it was not possible that He could be encompassed in the Most Holy place within the veil—it was only a symbol of His Presence. The fiery cloudy pillar was merely an indication that He was there in that Tabernacle where He was pleased to say that He peculiarly revealed Himself. But the time of symbols is now passed altogether. In that moment when the Savior bowed His head and said, "It is finished!" the veil of the Temple was torn in two so that the mysteries were laid open.

PORTRAIT painting is a great art. Many pretend to it but the masters of the art are few. In the Word of God we have a gallery of portraits so accurate, so striking, that only the hand of the Lord could have drawn them. Most of us have been startled to see our own portrait there. The best of all is that at the bottom of each likeness we have the Lord's judgment upon the character so that we are able to form an estimate of what our true condition is before the Lord.

PORTRAIT painting is a great art. Many pretend to it but the masters of the art are few. In the Word of God we have a gallery of portraits so accurate, so striking, that only the hand of the Lord could have drawn them. Most of us have been startled to see our own portrait there. The best of all is that at the bottom of each likeness we have the Lord's judgment upon the character so that we are able to form an estimate of what our true condition is before the Lord. Here you have a man drawn—he is poor and of a contrite spirit and trembles at the Word of the Lord. Here, also, you have the Lord's estimate of him—"To this man will I look." I hope to dwell chiefly upon the character described in the closing words, "And trembles at My Word." Support the text by the fifth verse, "Hear the Word of the Lord, you that tremble at His Word." This trembling is, in God's esteem, an admirable trait in their character. The glorious Jehovah from His Throne in Heaven speaks of those contrite ones who tremble at His Word—and then the Prophet takes up the strain and cries, "Hear the Word of the Lord, you that tremble at His Word." It is a very great mercy that there are descriptions of saints given in the Word of God which go very low and reach the feeblest degrees of Divine Grace and the saddest frames of mind. We find the children of God sometimes upon very high places—their spiritual life is vigorous and their inward joy is abounding. When we give you descriptions of saints in that condition, many of the Little-Faiths at once cry out, "Alas, I know nothing of this! Would God it were so with me! But, indeed, it is not." They are greatly discouraged by those very things which should raise their spirits and stimulate their desires—for surely if one Believer is able to climb the Delectable Mountains, there is all the more hope that another may do so.

For all those things hath mine hand made - That is the heaven and the earth, and all that is in them. The sense is, ‘I have founded for myself a far more magnificent and appropriate temple than you can make; I have formed the heavens as my dwelling-place, and I need not a dwelling reared by the hand of man.’ And all those things have been - That is, have been made by me, or for me. The Septuagint renders it, ‘All those things are mine?’ Jerome renders it, ‘All those things were made;’ implying that God claimed to be the Creator of them all, and that, therefore, they all belonged to him. But to this man will I look - That is, ‘I prefer a humble heart and a contrite spirit to the most magnificent earthly temple’ (see the notes at Isa 57:15). That is poor - Or rather ‘humble.’ The word rendered ‘poor’ (עני ‛ânı̂y), denotes not one who has no property, but one who is down-trodden, crushed, afflicted, oppressed; often, as here, with the accessory idea of pious feeling Exo 24:12; Psa 10:2, Psa 10:9. The Septuagint renders it, Ταπεινὸν Tapeinon - ‘Humble;’ not πτωχόν ptōchon (poor). The idea is, not that God looks with favor on a poor man merely because he is poor - which is not true, for his favors are not bestowed in view of external conditions in life - but that he regards with favor the man that is humble and subdued in spirit. And of a contrite spirit - A spirit that is broken, crushed, or deeply affected by sin. It stands opposed to a spirit that is proud, haughty, self-confident, and self-righteous. And that trembleth at my word - That fears me, or that reveres my commands.