[1] _"He that buildeth shall not make haste."_ The apostles
Paul and Peter, in citing this passage, quote from the
Septuagint, and accordingly they render it _"he that
believeth shall not be ashamed"_ (Rom. ix. 33), or
"confounded" (1 Pet. ii. 6). The Hebrew word properly
signified "to make haste," and hence, according to one
lexicographer, "to hurry hither and thither as persons in
confusion." The apparent discrepancy between the text as
given by Isaiah in the Old Testament and as quoted by the
apostles in the New vanishes at once when we consider the
nature of the future employed. Conceive the situation of a
man who has "built his house upon the sand." The rains
descend, the floods beat upon that house, the foundations
begin to give way, the house totters to its fall, and the
frightened inmate, terrified and bewildered, "makes haste"
to escape to a place of safety. Another has built his house
upon the rock. Upon this also the rains descend and the
floods beat, but its firm foundations remain unmoved
because it is founded upon a rock, and its happy inmate, so
far from being obliged to "make haste" to escape, in
conscious security may smile at the storm. "He that
believeth shall not make haste"--"shall not be
confounded"--"shall not be ashamed" of his hope.--_John
Dowling, D.D._
[2] A. V. _"Shall not make haste."_ See translations by
Alexander and Delitzsch. Kay and Birks, _"Shall not be in
haste."_ Cheyne, _"He that hath faith shall not give way."_
The text reading does not suit the connection; it seems to
have arisen out of a confusion of the letters mem and
kheth. Sept., Tay., Pesh., feeling that something was
wrong, render freely "Shall not be put to shame?" But as to
the connection see preceding extract from Dowling.
[3] If you had a bridge to cross which had stood for centuries
and over which thousands of people had passed every day
with entire safety, you would feel no hesitation in making
that of it yourself. So is Christ set before you--a
_tested_ foundation of hope.--_Hawes._
[4] See note 1 above.