Isaiah 1:6-8

Isaiah 1:6-8. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and purifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.

The Lord had suffered invaders to pillage the land until it was almost reduced to a desert, yet, even then, the people did not, and would not, bow unto their God. It is a terrible thing when sickness, or loss of property, or frequent bereavements do not bring men to their knees. Unsanctified afflictions prophesy certain condemnation to us. "He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy."