The Imperishable
Isaiah 40:7, 8
The grass wither, the flower fades: because the spirit of the LORD blows on it: surely the people is grass.…


The grass withereth, etc. The soul of man is immortal, and the Word that is to feed it is immortal too.

I. THE DECAY OF NATURE. "The grass withereth" - that which feeds the dying race of creatures upon earth. "The flower fadeth" - that which regales the physical senses of man. Each generation learns this great lesson, and it is interwoven into poem and song in every literature.

II. THE SYMBOLISM OF NATURE. These pictures of decay are to teach us how frail is the earthly life of man: "He cometh up and is cut down like a flower" "All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower thereof." So that his best life, his soul, will demand the greater care; that must be rooted in the everlasting. The inspiring of the human is a pensive enough consideration at times; we can only be comforted by the faith which, uniting us with Christ, enables us to say, "Though the outward man perishes, the inward man is renewed day by day.

III. THE ETERNITY OF TRUTH. The Word of our God shall stand for ever." It is blessed to be able to say "our God," because that implies not only reconciliation, but interest in his kingdom, and that kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. There is the written Word, and that lives and is translated into almost every language and dialect on the earth. There is that Word as it lives and breathes in the regenerated hearts and histories of the saints of God. There is the eternal Word himself, the Logos, the Lord Christ, the Inspirer of all truth in all the ages, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Lord God Almighty. - W.M.S.



Parallel Verses
KJV: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.

WEB: The grass withers, the flower fades, because Yahweh's breath blows on it. Surely the people are like grass.




The Withering Work of the Spirit
Top of Page
Top of Page