Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary… Mount up with wings as eagles, run, walk. That is a very lame finish. Surely there must be some mistake. The man with so keen an eye for rhetorical effect as this writer shows could not have ended this matchless oration so tamely. It is quite clear that the order in which the prophet wrote was, "They that wait upon the Lord shall walk and not faint, shall run and not be weary, shall mount up with wings as eagles." That is the way to finish. It's a sorry thing to begin with the eagle's flight and come down to four miles an hour! "So I saw in my dream that he went from running to going, and from going to scrambling on his hands and knees, because of the steepness of the place." You know who wrote that, and how true to the experience of a Christian is his picture. Perhaps that is the commentary on this verse. The order, then, may be the correct one, after all — not so good as a rhetorical finish, but true to life. And, at any cost, let him who speaks from the mouth of the true God himself be true. And this is true to life" "They shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run; they shall walk." The flash of inspiration brings eager enthusiasm; you actively pursue your ideal for a time, and then, because of the steepness of the place, you come down to a painful walk. Is not that the history in a nutshell of what is called the progress of nearly every society or opinion that you know? Whether it be philanthropic, political, social, or religious, that seems to be tram. "Mount up with wings as eagles, run, walk," and one might almost dare to add a fourth — "stand still!" (F. L. Wiseman, B. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. |
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