CHAP. LI. V.1—3. This,evidently continues the subject of the former chapter. Messiah here again returns to ‘* speak a word in season” to his discouraged people. Some suppose the captives at Babylon to be intended: but the scene appears to be laid in after times, and that captivity merely to have given occasion to the address, and the deliverance of the Jews from Babylon, to have been a shadow of more extensive and important blessings. The deso-lations of Jerusalem by the Romans, the massacres of Jews, which attended and succeeded it, and the rejection of that nation, must needs cause great heaviness to others of the
hearted: they must awake morning by morning, that they | Jewish converts to Christianity, as well asto St. Paul ; and may study and Jearn, and then teach, the word of God, and | they might conclude that the Lord’s choice of Israel was
become ‘‘ workmen that need not be ashamed, rightly di- “< viding the word of truth.”’ Their ear also must be opened to hear, and their heart prepared to abey, the commandments of God, that they may become examples to the -flock.
And, asthe incarnate Senvof God was not rebellious, and shrunk not back from obedience in his arduous undertaking, which required him to endure pain, shame, and agonies unknown: surely we should be willing to endure hardship as his soldiers, and not deem any obedience too self-denying, or any suffering too sharp, to which he calls us, ‘* Let us then go forth with him out of the camp, ‘© bearing his reproach :’’ and if we trust in his righteousness, copy his example, and suffer for his sake, the Lord God will help us too; and we may ‘‘ set our faces as a ‘¢ flint,” assured ‘* that God will justify” and deliver us, and confound all our adversaries and persecutors.
Let then the christian, ‘* who feareth the Lorb, and obeyeth the *¢ voice’ of his beloved Son, take courage, even ‘* if he ‘© walk in darkness, and have no light:” Jct him confide in God to conduct him through every gloomy vale of affliction, temptation, and disconsolution; and through the vale of death, to the everlasting light and joy of heaven.
finally vacated. (Note, Rom, xi. 1—6.) Theten persecutions in the first thrce centuries were very trying to the faith and patience of the primitive christians ; the long continued op-pressions, under which the church hath laboured from An-tichristian persecutors; and the prevalence of superstition, idolatry, impiety, infidelity, and every kind of iniquity to this day, among professed Christians, have been, and are, very discouraging, to all who love truth and holiness.
There is.also a time approaching and very near, when the dispersed of Israel will need some ground in their scriptures, to encourage their hope of re-admission into the church ; and consolatory topicks, suited to these several purposes, are here suggested.—They ‘‘ who follow after ‘¢ rivhtcousness and scck the Lorp,”’ are addresscd; they have begun to desire and seek the knowledge of God, and expect happiness in his favour; and they are using the appointed means of obtaining righteousness, (that is, of being justified and sanciified,) in order thereto. hese are called upon to hearken to the voice of God, and «> recollect the rock and the quarry, so to speak, whence the first stones of the spiritual building of the nation of Israel were taken.
But as | God called Abraham, an idolater, when acvanerd in years,
for those, who oppose, neglect, despise, or pervert this! with only Sarah his wife to attend him: and, when it was
¢
#12 Z.
B.C. 706.
i See ont Xnxv. 1, 2.
B.C. 706.
' ISAIAH.
‘mux. @. ex A Hearken unto me, my people; and | men, neither be ye afraid of their revil- © jo:%ie at
xix. 6. Xxxiil. save pol
20. 1Fet.ii.s." a law shall proceed from me, and °I
n ti. 3. Mic. iv. Q.
Rom. vi 4 will make my judgment to rest for a light
i Cor. ix. 23, o geen ait. of the people. Prove wi 98-5) My Prighteousness ts near; 4 my sal- Jehan ats 8-1, Vation is gone forth, and ‘mine arms shall Pdeut xxx. judge the people; * the isles shall wait _ Mi’, = upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust. arcs’, g,, © ‘Lift up your eyes to the heavens, xiviiet—5.Matt.and look upon the earth beneath: for
zi ae ne < : : XVi. . e
exlve 47 inset the heavens shall vanish away like x. 17, 18., 718, smoke, and the earth shall wax old like
xis nit garment, and they that dwell therein
i.e. Joes SHall die in like manner: but * my sal-
2,93. Acts xvii. ° iy 5 :
31. Kom. ii. 6. VatiON shall be for ever, and my right- Vv. ° 2
s See on xiii. ¢.eousness Shall not be abolished.
xlix. L—kx. 9. zh. i. 11; 7 Y Hearken unto me, ” ye that know righteousness, the people *in whose heart
Rom. i. 16. xv. 9-12.
t xl. 26. Deut. iv. b 1 e e iii. ‘ e > € e =
» BPs sii 3479 my law; > fear ye not the reproach of Ps. cii. $6. Matt. xxiv. 35. Heb. i. 11, 18. @ Pet. iii, 10—12. Rev. vi. 12-14. Xx. Th. Xx & xiv. 17. Ps. ci. 17. Dan. ix. 24. John iii 15, 16. v. Qt. x. 27-299. 2 Thes. ii. 16. Heb. v. 9. ix. 12. 15. y See on. z Phil. iit. S—10. Tite ri, 11,12 a Ps. xxxvii. $1. xt. 8. Jer. xxxi. 39, 94. 2 Cor. iil. 3. Heb. x. 16. b Jer. 1. 17. EZ. ii. 6. Matt. v. Ti, x. 28. Luke vi. 22. xii. 4, 5. Acta. 41. 1 Pet. iv. 4. 14.
become contrary to the ordinary course of nature for him to have children by her, the Lord, according to his promise, blessed them ; and increased them into an innumerable multitude. (Notes, Gen. xvii. 17. xviii. g—15. xxi. 1—4. Ez. Xxxlii. 24—29. Rom. iv. 18—22.) So that he could, and certainly would, recover his church from the lowest condition :‘he would comfort the remnant of believers, by reviving true religion in those places which had been waste and desert ; and by planting them, like the garden of Eden, with every beautiful, excellent, and useful production: and this would cause joy and gladness, and thankful songs of praise, to abound. (Notes, xxxv. 1, 2. xli. 7—10.xlix. 9— 19 lv. 12, 19. Ixi. 7—11. Jer. xxxi. 10—14. XXxill, 6—
11. Ez. xxxi. 3—9g. Rev. xix. t—z.)—The conversion of the Gentiles, to fill up the places in Zion which were desolated by the rejectiofi of the Jews; the revival of evangelical religion, after it had lain long buried under the rubbish of
popery ; the restoration of the Jews into the church, and
her subsequent purity and enlargemrent, may all be predicted under these images.
V. 4—6.
Were God our Saviour speaks to Israel ; and calls on them to observe, that he would promulgate his laws, establish his ordinances, and declare his truths, among other nations ; who, being instructed by his holy word, would become his subjects and obey his commandments. (Notes, ii, oe xiii. 1—4.) His righteousness, as imputed to believers for justification, and his grace as imparted for sanctification, and the performance of his ancient promises, were now brought near; the glad tidings of his complete salvation were gone forth; (for the scene is laid in the primitive times of christianity ;) his arms, or his universal authority andalmighty power, would execute just Judgment among the nations; and the most remote regions would learn to wait on him, and trust in him as alone able to save them.
He would not fail, or be discouraged, till this had generally taken effect: for his salvation, and the righteousness connected with it, would continue, not only after the ruin of successive generations of persecutors and opposers ; but even
ive ear unto me, ™O my nation: for | ings.
8 For “the moth shall eat them up ee ee like a garment, and the worm shall eat ° xiv.'es. lise 4: ixxviii. 65. Hab.
them like wool: but 4 my righteousness , it 19. a
° » 17. shall be for ever, and my salvation from ?+z2.19.xcw. generation to generation. _ g $. til, 1. Bx, 16-
Q {| Awake, ‘awake, ‘ put on strength, , juie™. is &O Arm of the Lorp; awake, "as in py uiv.1. the ancient days, in the generations of! Meg. Pe. old. i drt thou not it that hath cut. tam. Rahab, and wounded * the dragon ? “tesive_ 18, M.
10 Art thou not it which hath ' dried Hib. | ii 1s.
the sea, the waters of the great deep ;! xii. 1b, xllil 16 . that hath made the depths of the sea a 32: 3: WR - Ixxiv. 18.
way for thc ransomed to pass over? . — “ maeav. Io. xliv. 11 Therefore ™ the redeemed of the fix.” %s. ser Lorp shall return, and come with singing iri, u) ° ° ° xxxiii. 11. Acts
unto Zion; and ® everlasting joy shall be is. «1-41. Rev. ° . Vv. 9—1S. tii. 9,
upon their head: they shall obtain glad- 19. x. i+. ness and joy; ° and sorrow and mourning ® 2,15, Bl: 7 shall flee away. jee eta : Ixv. 19. Rev. vii. 17. xah 1. Xxii J.
after the heavens and the earth were grown old and vanished, and all their inhabitants were destroyed like the meanest insects: yea, they should never be abolished to all eternity. (Notes, 7,8. xxxiv. 3—7. xlv. 2o—25, xIvi. 12, 13. Ps. cii. 25—28. Matz. xxiv. 32—935. Heb. i. 10-—12. 2 Pet lii, 8—19. Rev. xx. 11—15.)
V.7,8. There seems to be here an advance, in describing the character of the persons addressed: perhaps intimating, that they, ‘* who follow after righteousness, and ‘© seek the Lorp,” will ‘‘ know righteousness,” and be assured, that ‘* being justified by faith, they have peace with ‘© God,” and enjoy his favour: having his law written in their hearts, loving it and delighting to obey it. (Notes, 1—
3. Ps. xxxi. 39, 91. xl. 6 —8. Jer. xxxi. 33, 34. Rom. vii. 22—95. Phil. iii. 8—11. Hed. viii. 7 —13. x. 5—10.) This confidence would be necessary in order to their victory over
the fear of man, especially in times of persecution: and.
they are encouraged not to fear the reproaches or revilings of those, whe ‘* spake all manner of evil against them ‘¢ falsely for Christ’s sake,” and then made their calumnies the pretext for their cruelties. (Notes, 12—14. Matt. v. 10
12. Heb. xi. 24—26. 35—98. xiii. gp —14. 1 Pet iv. 12— 16.) For all their persecutors would soon decay, and perish like a moth-eaten garment: but the righteousness and salvation of the Lorp would maintain their ground on éarth through all generations ; 2s well as continue for ever the felicity of the believer, who here suffered for adhering to them. (Notes, 4—6. xlv. 15—17. Jer. xxiii. 5, 6. Dan. 1x.
24. 2 Thes ii. 16, 17. Heb. v. 7—10.) 7 V.g—11. The church, encouraged by these assurances, calls upon her great Redeemer to awake and exert himself for her deliverance. She calls him ‘the Arm of the Lorp ;” or his power; (and Christ is the Power, as well as the Word and Wisdom, of God; Noges, liii. 1. 1 Gor. i. 17— 24;) she intreats him to ‘* put on strength, as in aneient «« days;” for was he not the same almighty King, who had destroyed Egypt and Pharaoh, and weakened that formidable power of which the dragon was an emblem (Note, Pr
B. C.906..
Neh. x. 7—15. -
B.C. 706.
Jon, aie you: who art thou, 4 that thou shouldest - Bes" °— be.afraid of a man ‘thaé shall die, and of * cia. 6. exins the son of ‘man, which shall be made #5, Dan. iii. 1628 QTASS?° -
ae."Lke xii. 4, 53 And * forgettest the ‘Lorp thy r xi. 6m. xc. 3, Maker, * that hath stretched forth the 45, 16. Jam. it heavens, and laid the foundations of the s fer on xvii, 10,€arth; and hast " feared continually every ve Iersitse, Gay because of the fury of the oppressor, * Siva. airs @8 if he ® were * ready to destroy? and is. ci. #8, 7. Where is the fury of the oppressor ?
ty aati 18 14 The * captive exile hasteneth that u vil 1¢, 18.1. he may be loosed, and that he should “on made him-not * die in the pit, nor that his bread x 8-3. B&.should fail. cick Sak
15 But I am the Lorp thy God, » that
9, 10. Esth. vy.
34. Dan. Iii, 15.
19. Rev. xx. 9g. y X. 33, 34. xiv. 16, 17. xvi. 4. xxxiii. 18, 19. xxxvii. $6—S8. Ex. miv. 18. Esth. vii. 10. Job xx. 5—9. Ps. ix. 6, 7. Xxxvii. $5, $6. Ixxvi. 10. Dan. iv. 32, 33. Matt. ii. 16—20. Acts xii, 23. 1 Cor. i. 20. xv. 55. Rev. xix.@0. z xlviii. 20. fii. 2. i. 5. Acts xii. 7; 8. a Jer. xxxvii. 16. xxxviii. 6—13. Lam. iii. 53, 54. Zech. ix, 11. b Sce on 10.—Neh. ix. 11. Job xavi. 12. Ps. cxiv. S—, Cxxxvi. 13, Jer. e sxxi. $5. Am. ix. 5, 6.
a Sa ESS ee ne eae ane eee Ixxiv. 13—17.)- Was not he the same, who had divided the Red Sea, that his redeemed people might pass over? (Note, \xiii. 11—14.) In this confidence the church. rests assured, that the people, whom he hath now redeemed with his blood, as well as by his power, will obtain a joyful de- Jiverance from every enemy.—As the Jews of old returned from Babylon to Zion with songs of joy and praise: so will that nation be again received into the church, and restored to the promised land ; and the whole church shall long rejoice and prosper, freed from those enemies, oppressions, and corruptions which have so long harassed her; and enjoy such peace, purity, light, and felicity, as shall render her earthly state almost like heaven, where alone these -expressions can be fully answered. (Notes, xxv. 6—8. xxxv. 8— ao. Jer. XXX. 19—22. xxxi. 10—14, Zeph. iii. 14—17. Lech. x. 5—12. Rev. xix. 1—7.
V..29—14. The Lord here engages to be the Comforter of his church: and in that case, what occasion had she to fear wretched dying men, who are cut down, and _ wither as the grass? (Notes, xl. 6—8.1.7—9.) It must therefore be the-effect of unbelief, forgetfulness of the Lord her Maker, and of the power engaged.on her side, that she ‘was continually terrified by the fury of oppressors, as if they were about entirely to destroy her; whereas their fury would speedily vanish and be no more found. (Notes, Ps. cxvi. 3. Dan. iii. 1618. Matt..x. 27, 28.
Acts xii. 1—4. 2024.) ——But she complained and was alarmed, like a person who is exiled or in captivity, and was in great haste to be set at liberty, lest she should perish in the dungeon, or by famine. —** He marcheth on with speed, who cometh to set free the << captive, &c.” ‘ Cyrus, if understood of the temporal ‘ redemption from—Babylon: in the spiritual sense, the ‘ Messiah.’ (Bp.
Lowsh.) ‘‘ The captive exile shalt be ‘* quickly delivered: he shall not die in the pit; neither <¢ shall his bread fail.”. (Zoewsd.)) Either of these renderings contains an encouragement, and not a reproof: but the _ Context leads us to think, that the persons concerned, whileearnestly waiting and seeking for deliverance, were in a measure impatient, and weak in faith, and ready to conclude thatthe blessing, so long delayed, would never be vouchsafed ; though expressly. promised in the sacred scrip-
CHAPTER LI.
ps,atiLes. wi 19 J, even PT, am he that comforteth | divided the sea,
| . B.C.708. whose waves roared se xvii. 4. xivit ©The Lorp of hosts is his name. ie
10 And 4 I have put my words in thy Dent. xvii. 18. mouth, and ¢ I have covered thee in the 3040. xvii. @. shadow of mine hand, that I may § plant¢ Se. 9 xls. 2.
—Deut. xxxiii.
the heavens, § and lay the. foundations of; 2%. 46. ix. 1, the earth, and say unto Zion, ® Thou art Bi3e R27 my people. galvii is, alix. 17 QJ Awake, ! awake, stand up, Oo bt, 50 3er Jerusalem, * which hast drunk at the $8. Zech. vill, hand of the Logp the cup of his fury ;, sié 10. thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup ™,> %)! of trembling, and wrung them out. - Ce eee ery sg 18 There is ' none to guide her among ) all the sons whom she hath brought
34. Ps. xi. 6. Ix. forth; neither is there any ™ that taketh
16. }
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S$. Ixxv. 8. Jer. XXKV. 15 -17. QF. Bz. xxiii 31— $4. Zech. xii. @. Rey. xiv. 10.
cher by the hand, of all the sons ¢ha¢ she! iis ae, xliv.
« Ps, lexxviii.
18. hath brought up. . Mutt. ix. 36. x+. 19 These "two things t are come unto ,'t 44 aie ,, Job viit, 00. Marg. Jer. xxxi. $2. Mark viii. 93. Acts ix. 8 xiii. 11. Heb. viii. 9. n xlviie i t Heb. happened. . .
cxlit, 4.
9. Bz. xiv. 21.
pa tures. Thus pious christians, who have always grieved over
the corruptions of the church, and longed for deliverance from the spiritual captivity of antichrist, and for the predicted millennium; have been tempted, by the failure of many zealous attempts, to which they forcboded full success, and by the delay of an answer to their earnest prayers, to conclude that such atime will never arrive; and that superstition, ignorance, false doctrine, and wickedness, will prevail to the end of the world.—‘ The captive must starve * and die in his dungeon, if not hastily liberated.’ (Adarg. Ref)
V. 15, 16. The church, or the prophet, had called on
the Lord, who had divided the Red Sea; and he here answers to.that call. (Nofe, g—11.) He was still the same omnipotent Protector of his people, as when he brought Israel out of Egypt.—But the latter verse must be addressed, either to Isaiah, or to the Messiah, whom he predicted and in some respects typified.
The Lord had put words in the prophet’s month, which he delivered to the church, to encourage her faith and direct her prayers; and he had preserved him, as under the shadow of his hand, that, with the converts made by his ministry, he might plant the heavens, as with ‘¢ trees of righteousness,” and establish the earth, or the land, which had been greatly shaken in the reign of Ahaz.
It is, however, obvious, that this interpretation falls vastly short of the energetick language employed; which nothing can fully answer, but the glorious cffects of the Messiah’s coming into the world, being carried through his labours and sufferings, advanced to the me-diatorial throne, and sending his gospel to all nations, with the Holy Spirit to render it successful ; thus replenishing heaven with holy inhabitants, establishing the moral state of the earth, and owning the despised church, as a people near and dear to him. (Notes, xlv. 18, 19. xlix. 1—6. 1. 4. lix. 20, 21. Ix. 15—29.
Ixi. 1—3.)—** Stretch cut, &e.”’ (Bp. Lowth, by a total change of the text without the least autha-rity.) The stretching *‘* out the heaven,” was past, but the planting of the heavens, was the special future work of the Messiah.
V. 17—20. The Lord here seemis to address the Jews
in their present dispersions. Jerusalem, the mother of that 1222 .
B.C. 706. ISAIAH B. C: 706 ojob itp un. Ps. thees ° who shall be sorry for thee? | and thy God that ® pleadeth the CAUSE ® 1 Sam. xxv. 3 _
Ixix. 80. Jer. ix, ° 17-21. Lam. i desolation,
9. 12. 17. AM
vii, 2 ‘famine, and-the sword: P by whom shall
® Heid. inte Prt te nyt] comfort thee? ecata 20 Thy 9sons have fainted, they hie ee at the head of ail the streets, ™ asa wild Vie iamc ius bull ina net: they are * fall of the fury ria of the Lord, the rebuke of thy God. os oun ate «2 Therefore hear now this, thou af-e174. iv t9—flicted, and drunken, ‘buat not with wine: 22 Thes saith thy Lord the Lonrp,
15, 16. Lam. tii. 15, 16. Rev. xis. ; :
10. t xxix. O. xlix. 26. Mz. xxxix. 19. :
inti i —= as — ee a ee ee EE ee ee ee oe ———= ——- . - -
people, had indeed drunk the cup of the Lord’s fury, and wrung out the very dregs of it. The terrible effects of his indignation, against that devoted city, are repsesented by those of a poisoned or medicated potion, which a criminal was obliged to drink off; and which produced rage, despair, and anguish, or trembling and fainting. (Nofes, xlix. 24 —
26. Ps.1x. 1—3. Ixxv. 8. Jer. xxv. 15-17. Lech xil. »—
5. Matt. xxvi. 36—41.) In this condition none of her children were at hand, or able, to lead, uphold, or take care of her. That is, the most desolating and stupendous judgments would be poured out upon Jernsalem, by pestilence, discord, famine, and the Roman sword: none of the neighbours would sympathize with the poor Jews, or attempt to comfort them; but would rather insult over their miseries and increase them.
Nor among themselves, would any of Jerusalem’s sens be able to help themselves, or defend their city: but they would lie fainting and dying by multitudes at the head of every street: and, continuing unhumbled and un. tamed, they would resemble the wild bull, when taken in the hunter’s toils, furiously struggling to extricate himself, and only entangling himself the more.
Thus would they suffer by the furious rebuke of the Lord, for rejecting and crucifying their promised Messiah.-- This seems to relate immediately to the taking of Jerusalem by the Remans, and the miserics which attended that awful event. (udarg. Ref.) But the calamities of the Jews continue to this day ; and they yet remain unhumbled under them: which circumstance shews that they, and not persecuted christians, are here pri-marilv intended. —$ Twa things: (19,) that isy desolation by < famine, and destruction by the sword.’ (Bp. Lowth.)
V. 21— 3. The afflicted Jews, who have been so long
“made drunken by temporal and spiritual judgments, more
than with wine, or in a more stupitying manner, are here encouraged to e pect deliverance. (Note, xxix. g—12.) Mercy is yet in store for the nation of Israel, for their ta-thers’ sake The Lord will yet plead their cause, and punish their oppressors, who have so long treated them with equal cruclty and indignity ; trampling them down as the mire in the streets, and attempting to dumineer over their souls as well as their bodies. —1t is well known, that in those countries where the inquisition ts established, numbers of Jews dissemble their religion to escape its cruelties; yet they abjectly submit to be thus trampl-d on, for gain by trafick there: and this torms a rernarkable accomplishment ofthe prephecy (Nefes, Deul iv. -6—28. xviit. 64— 67.
Josh. x.24) Neither the obetinacy, nor the sufferings, of the Jews at Babylon were in any measure equal to what they have been since the destruction of Jetusalein by the Romans: the scene of the prophecy leads us to this interpretation: and those popish countries, where they have been most grievously oppressed, will hereafter be punished
and * destruction, and the ]of his people, Behold, * I have taken
Jer. |. 34. fi. 96. Joel iii. 2. Mic. vii. @
out of thine hand the cup of tremb-. 174i. ». rei. ling, even the dregs of the cup of my **™™™-% fury; thou shalt no more drink it again. :
23 But ¥ I will put it into the hand of? trv. sing. ant them that afflict thee; which have said in. Zech, it to thy soul, 7 Bow down, that we may fa go over: and thou hast laid thy body as xsi. iy ie. the ground, and as the street, to them '% that went over. |
with similar severity. (Nofes, xxxiv. Ixiil. 1—6. Ez. xxxix. 17—29. Mic. vii. 18—20, Zech, xii. 2—8. Rev. xviii. xix.).
PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS.
- 1—8. Pe .
The eonsolations of the guspel are proposed to men, not
by name, but by’character ; and from the first dawnings of
| divine lite in the soul, till its completion in glory, the true believer, and he alone, ‘‘ follows after righteousness and “* seeks the Lorp.” (Note, Hos. vi. 1-93 PAA. iii 19-— 14.)—As it is profitable to consider, from what small and unpromising beginnings, the blessing of God hath increased
when it appeared almost expiring: so it is very useful for believers to consider frequently, ‘‘ the rock whence they ‘* were hewn, and the hole of the pit whence they were ‘* digged.”” We should seriously retlect upon our natural depravity, guilt, and misery; upon the enmity and hardness ot our hearts, the rebellion of our wills, the pollution of Our imaginations and desires, and the crimes of our lives past: we should recollect the bad habits which we had contracted, through an early entrance and a long continuance in sin, the ungodly connexions which we had formed, the i prejudices that we had imbibed, and all the circumstances _ peculiar to us, which tended to aggravate our guilt, and to render our conversion improbable: and we should consider how we struggled against conviction, and would gladly have quieted our consciences without parting with our sins, or without accepting the salvation of Christ.
These reviews, when duly made, powerfully tend to keep the heart humble, and the conscience awake and tender; they repress boastings and complaints, and excite thankfulness to him who hath made us to differ: they are suited to satisfy the discouraged believer, that a saving change hath taken place, and to animate his hopes and prayers for all which yet remains to be done in and for him: they render Christ more precious to our souls; and give energy to our attempts and prayers for the conversion of ungodly relatives, and for that of sinners all around us.
Let us then frequently thus review our life past, that we may renew our repentance, our joyful praises, and our earnest supplications; that our souls may become like ‘the garden of the Lorp,”’ being filled with all. the ‘* fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus.Christ,. ‘* to the glory of God ;"’ and that we may be, as it were in miniature, what the church on earth will shortly become; and possess an internal cvidence of the power of our God to effect that glorious change in the state of the visible church. and of the world; as well as an earnest of that further change, which must yet take place in our bodies and souls, previous to our full’enjoyment of that, ‘* Paradise of God,” where
and enlarged the church hitherto, and revived pure religion
o
B.C. 706.
CHAP. LIf.
A call to the captive church to assert
her liberty, accompanied aith promises of deliverance, 1—6. The joy occastoned by the Gospel; and the knowledge, peace, and purity of the Christian church; with suitable exhortations, ‘7—12. The humiliation
only ‘* joy and gladness shall be found, thanksgiving and ‘¢ the voice, of melody ;” and from which ‘* sorrow and ‘* mourning shall flee away.’’—Our meditations should also be extended to the former state of this our most favoured nation: blessed be God, that the Gospel of Christ hath come, and doth rest, among us for the light of our souls ; «« his righteousness is brought nigh, his salvation is gone ‘¢ forth” in the midst of us; he is revealed as our Lawyiver and Judge, and he is become the Righteousness and Salvation of those who trust in him and wait for him. Let us then rely on his merits, his grace, and power, and receive the law from his hands, as the rule of our obedience: and
_thus we shall be safe and happy, when the earth and all its
works shall be burnt up; for ** his salvation shalt be for ‘¢ ever, and his righteousness shall not be abolished.”” But if we would expect that solemn season with comfort, and have confidence in death and judgment ; we must press forwards in the ways of God, that, having his ‘‘ law in our ; it in due season.
‘* hearts,’”’ we may know our interest in his righteousness. Then we need fear no enemy or catastrophe: our reverential fear of God, and our gracious dread and abhorrence of sin, will arm us against the ensnaring fear of man: and it is our infirmity and fault, if we fear the revilings or rage of any man or set of men, who despise and hate us for the sake of Christ and his righteousness ; seeing he is our ever-present and all-sufficient Protector. We can indeed expect no other than reproach in this wicked world: but our persecutors will soon die and perish.
Should we be cut off by their rage, or die before them, we shall seon be out of their reach: and if we be spared, they will soon lose their power of molesting us.— The cause of Christ survives one generation of opposers after another: and the believer will survive all his revilers, and enjoy his portion whilst they are in ‘* outer darkness.” Let us then combat our fears, and give up ourselves unto prayer: and let us take courage in reviewing the wonders which God performed for his church of old.
V. 9—23.
-.
We christians may not only plead with God, that he divided the Red Sea, and destroyed the Egyptians to deliver Israel; but we may advert to the more glorious triumphs of his grace, at the day of Pentecost, and afterwards in the conversion of unnumbered multitudes to Him, whom they just before had crucified, and who, being risen again and ascendcd into heaven, poured out his Spirit to work the astonishing change. Compared with those glorious days, <* the Arm of the Lorp’’ seems now to sleep; but he only waits to be awakened by our fervent prayers. He will yet <¢ put on strength as in ancient days ;”’ he will destroy the power of Antichrist, and bind up the old dragon, that hath hitherto deceived the nations. Then ‘‘ the redeemed ot the “« Lorn” shall be-delivered from*captivity, Zion shall re-
-
CHAPTER LI.
ecm ea a Ln AT EI PS
8 eee
B.C. 706. and exaltation of Christ, and the suc-* Se on 8. 9.17 cess of his cause, 138—15. Meera aa “b See on Ixi. 3. 100 AWAKE, @ awake, put on thy strength, fom ii ae, rar . ti . h. iv. O Zion; » put on thy beautiful gare ABs. . 4. ments, O Jerusalem, © the holy city: fore i: 2 . v6. xiii ad ‘ » Neh. xi. te henceforth ¢.there shall no more come Je, xi. ‘es. into thee the uncircumcised and the un- 2, Mat. iv. 5. clean. are xiv. 9. Nah. i. 15. Rev. xxi. 07«
sound with songs of praise, and their gladness on earth-shalL form a swect antepast to the everlasting joy of heaven. Our lot indeed is not cast in that happy periot; yet the Lord’is our Comforter, if true christians: and should we then think ourselves so defenccless, as to fear a man that shall die!
Surely this must arise from our unbelief, and forgettulness of **the Lorp our Maker, who hath stretched forth the ‘* heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth: and we are very reprehensible for being salicitous continually every day, because of the prevalence of infidelity and impiety, as if the enemies of godliness were ready to complete its ruin. The case is far otherwise: they are compassing their own perdition, and ere long their place shall know them no more.
Let us then make haste to escape the confines of sin, and to return from our state of distance and banishment from God: but let us wait patiently our time of deliverance from oppression and calamities, assured that the Lord will hasten If we be saved by Jesus from the pit of hell, he will not let us perish in any other pit; and if we have learned to feed upon the Bread of life, our bread can~ not fail: our bondage and exile on earth will soon end; our souls be rescued from the prison of our sinful bodies, and our bodies at length redeemed from the bondage of corruption, and ‘* so shall we be ever with the Lord.’ Let us then rest our souls on his word ; that, having been ‘* planted ‘¢ as trees of righteousness” in his courts below.,. we shall at lenyth be transplanted to heaven, there to flourish for ever in that garden of the Lord. (Note, Ps. xcii. 19—15.) Nor should they despair, who have here drunk the deepest of the cup of the Lord's indignation: for his severest judgments often introduce his tenderest compassions.
Yet, as lony as men are hardened, stupified, or rendered outrageous and desperate, by afflictions ; there is little appearance of a happy. event. When the wrath of God rests upon transgressors, no children or friends can comfort them; and all their efforts to extricate themselves, involve them in deeper guilt. and misery. Let sinners then remember these things, and: learn by their present sufferings to submit to God, to confess their crimes, to acknowledge his justice, and to seek his mercy. Let us all recollect, that our rebellious murmurs tend only to increase and prolong our sorrows.
Let us look on the poor Jews with compassion, and endeavour to administer to their comfort, and not add to their miseries; and above all, let us pray for and seek their conversion. And let those powerful tyrants, who lord it over that people, of any others; who enslave their bodies, or usurp authority over their consciences, remember, that the Lord will plead. their cause, and punish their impenitent oppressors, . with greater misery and contempt; either in this world, or in. that which is to come.
~~ meee oe
| NOTES. ‘ CHAR LU. V. 1. The latter part of the preceding 6
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6 iti. 296. li. 95. Jer. fi. 6. 4h
30. Zech. i & and sit down, O Jerusalem: ' loose thy-flix. 21 te self from the bands of thy neck, O cap-emule tive daughter of Zion. | gxv.is.11.t 3 For thus saith the Lorn, & Ye have 13, 1 Pet 1-16 sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money. | | A For thus saith the Lord God, ® My desea. iet cox, PEOplE went down aforetime into Egypt xxvii, Jer. tO sojourn there; and ! the Assyrian op-k Jub ii. 3. Ps. pressed them, * without cause. , on xz >-- = & Now therefore ' what have I here, ert Ss 4g, Saith the Lorp, that ™ my people is
h Gen. xivi. 6. Acts vii. 14. ”
chapter deScribes the desolations of Jerusalem by the Romans, and the miseries of the Jews to this day ; more exactly than either those inflicted by the Chaldeans, or by ‘Antiochus Epiphanes, which were of short continuance: and this chapter is evidently a continuation of the subjcct.
There can therefore be no good reason to restrict the interpretation to the deliverance of the Jews from Babylon.— The sacred writer indeed treats his subject as a prophet and ‘a poet, and not as an orator or historian: yet some degree of method, and some order in the series of his predictions, may be expected, as well in his writings, as in those of the other prophets. He had spoken of the deliverance of Jerusalem from Sennacherib; and then of the return of the Jews from Babylon: interminyling predictions of more spiritual and generally interesting events.
But nothing can be supposed more interesting than the future restoration of Isracl to the church and to their own land; no event is more evidently predicted in scripture ; and the Jews generally expect the termination of their present miserics ; though they think that it will be effected by the advent of the Messiah, whom they suppose not yet come.
This restoration is far more intimately connected with those things, which relate to the person and work of Christ, than the deliverance from Babylon was: and it is so agreeable to the context; that I apprehend it ought not to be overlooked in explaining this passage.—The church had called upon her Redeemer, ‘* as «¢ the Arm of the Lorn,” to awake and put on strength for her deliverance: (Note, li. g—11:) here she is called upon to awake, and to ‘‘ be strong in the Lord,” that she may apprehend that liberty, which was preparing for her.
She is represented as a sorrowful woman, and called Zion, Jerusalem, the holy city: but she is exhorted to put on ber beautiful garments as a rejoicing bride; being assured that the uncircumcised and unclean should no more enter into her, as the Chaldeans had done. (Noles, i. 25-27. 1x. 1— 3- 15—22. fz. xlviii. 95. Zech. xiv. 20, 21. Rev. xxi. 229 —27.) But with what propricty could this be addressed to Jerusalem after the captivity?
Antiochus Epiphanes soon profaned the city and temple, by every method which his impious cruelty could devise: after that event, Pompey the Roman general took possession of the city, and.committed
" many profanations, and even entered into the holy-of holies
and at length the city and whole nation, as unclean, were given up intothe hands of the uncircumcised Romans, to be utterly profaned and desolated. (Note, Dan. ix. 27.)—The New Testament-church therefore must chiefly be intended, and probably with especial reference to its last and purest ages: for there are intimations given, that after the termi-
ISAIATIL
2 © Shake thyself from the dust; arise, | taken away for nought? They that rule o xed, 6. 11 a
B. C. 706.
over them " make them to howl, saith 16. i, 65 ah Bl the Lorp; and °my name continually 1.2 Jet 7. every day 7s blasphemed. 3. ¥. 18 — 15.
6 Therefore P my people shall know? & es.
my name: therefore they shall know in es. te. sx. 8
14. 2EKvi. 20—
that day that 4 I am he that doth speak : os. rom. iis.
behold, z¢ is I. P xeitys 3-7. i
7 4 How * beautiful upon the moun- xz. 4s.’ mi. tains are the feet of him that bringeth 2-29,zech.s. good tidings, that publisheth peace; that, !%'") woo, bringeth good tidings of good, that §pub- 7% 18. He rxi.g Ixi, 1-3. Nuh. i. 15. Luke ii. 10. Rom. x. 12-15, s Ps. ixvili, 21. Mark xii.
10. xvi. 15. Luke xxiv. 47. Acts x.36—38. Kev. xiv. 6,
nation of the antichristian tyranny, the restoration of the Jews, and the fulness of the Gentiles being brought in; the church shall continue in permanent peace and purity, till the eve of the general judgment: then indeed some appstacies will take place, and the apostate nations shall make war upon the city of God; but they shall fail of success and perish in the attempt. (Notes, Rev. xx. 1—<10.)
V. 2, 3. Thechurch is here represented as trampled in the dust, (li. 23;) but she is called upon to arise and shake herself from her dust, to sit down as a queen upon a throne, and to Jay aside all the badges of her former servitude.—-The Jews indeed had been sold into bondage for those sins, which could in no sense profit them, and they might be said to have ‘* sold themselves for nought ;” (Note, 1. 1—93) and all the calamities of the christian church have been righteous visitations for her sins: but the Lord was about to redeem them by his power, without paying their oppressors any ransom for them. Cyrus extorted the power over the Jews from their oppressors, and then freely liberated them: and this may perhaps be an exact prefiguration of the future deliverance of the church.—Thze price paid by our Redeemer for our salvation, was not silver, or gold, or corruptible things, but his own precious blood. (Noles, xlv. 135. 14. 1 Pet. i. 17—21.) .
V. 4—6. The Egyptians, ungratefully and unjustly, enslaved the Israelites, when they went down to sojourn among them; and the Assyrians and Chaldeans afterwards grievously oppressed them without any provocation; but the Lord pleaded their cause and rescued them: (Notes, xlvil.
6. li. 20—23:) and thus he will save his church from all unrighteous persecutérs ; and avenge Israel on all those who oppress them. He did not authorise these cruelties; nor had he any profit from their sufferings.
They, who from age to age ruled over his people, have made them to howl by their cruel oppressions, and have then insulted them, and blasphemed the name of their God as if he could not deliver then. (Nofes, xlviii.g—11.) Therefore his own glory required him to interpose ; and he would let his people know his power, truth, and love; and. that He, even JEHOVAII himself, had spoken all these predictions, of which under their anguish of spirit they had been tempted to doubt, and was ready to perform them.—Perhaps some intimation is here given, that the Jews shall in the day of their restoration know, that he, who spake to them as their Messiah, and whom they despised and crucified, was-indeed their God and King. (Notes, Zech. xii. 9—14.
Matt. xxili. 37-99.)
V. 7, 8. (Note, Nah. i. 15.) The proclamation of Cyrus circulated by messengers into every place, and noti-
B. C. 706.
t aly ss. xii ligheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, | clean that bear the vessels of the Lorp.» Xxvili, 16. li 14e
seid scr 10. Thy God reigneth. 8 Thy * watchmen shall * lift up the
“M4, sll 18 voice ; Y¥ with the voice together shall” wg ivi. 10, Ixif. 6.
Cit. iis. v.they sing: for they shall * see eye to eye, Zasi, 6, 7. as, When the Lorp shall bring again Zion.
Bebe slit. " Q * Break forth into joy, sing together, yi em Ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the
suit. * Lorp hath comforted his people, he hath #0. Jer. xxriil. redeemed Jerusalem.
7. Rev 5-8 19 The Lorp hath © made bare his
10. xviii. 20. d oms.e6. ser.holy arm in the eyes of all the nations;
fi 9. Zech. i a dail the ends of the earth shall’ see se.'rcer. i.10.the salvation of our God.
rm xv. 7. ili. 10, a nde xikx. f; | t ] l th ° als . xivii. 90. xi from thence, “touch no unciean thing,
a2. Ike. 18 1 > ye out of the midst of her; & be ye
xevi. 11, $2. Zeph, iii. 14, 15. Gal. iv. 27. b xliv. 26. li. 3. Ixi. 4. c li. 9. Ixvi. 18, 19. Ps. xcvill. iS, Acts il. 5-11. Rev. xi, 15-17. xv. 4. d xlix. 6. Ps. xxii. 27. ° Luke iii. 6. Acts xiii. 47. Rev. xi. 15. xiv. 6. e¢ xiviii. 20. Jer. 1, 8. li. 6. 45. Zech.
a. 6; 7» 8 Cor. vi. 17. Rev. Vili. 4. : f Lev. v. 2, 3. xi. 26, Q". 45. 47. Ez. xiiv. 23. Hag, li. 13, 14. Acts x, 14. 98. Rom. xiv. l4-Bpb. v. tl. 1 Pet. i, 14-16, ii, 5, A. g Lev. x3 3. xxii. 2 3. Ezra i. qJ—)1. vil. 25—30.
Cm © ae ew
- fied by signals and by the voice of the watchmen, on the
tops of the mountains, was but a feeble emblem of that grand event, to which the apostle appropriates this passage ; namely, the preaching of the gospel to the nations of the earth. When men know their real character and situation
‘ and that of the world, ‘<‘ the feet’’ of those who bring these
good tidings, appear beautiful ; that is, the meanest of them: it may also intimate their holy walk and conversation. (Nore, Rom. x.12—17.) They bring glad tidings from heaven of
' pardon, peace, and salvation ; and ‘* say to Zion, Thy God
“© yeigneth.”’ (Nofes, x1. 6—8. Luke ii. 8—14.) He rules the world with invincible power, who is Zion’s God and Saviour. The watchmen may be the same, as the messengers of glad tidings; evangelists, or such as wait to receive and circulate the joyful sound. Whilst they cry aloud, that all may hear, they join glad hallelujahs with their invitations: the divine light then shines so clear, that they see “«“ eye to eye,” with open face, as of one mind and judgment, and very distinctly. (Notes, Jer. xxxil. 39—41. Acts iv. 32—95.
Phil. ii. 1:—4.)—I apprehend this is not to be restricted to any particular period, but is a general declaration of the means, by which all the predicted events, as far as they relate to spiritual redemption, are to be accomplished. In proportion as the faithful preaching of the gospel is vouchsafed, true religion will be diffused and flourish.—-* The ideas are in their full extent, evangelical : and ‘ accordingly St.
Paul has, with the utmost propriety, ap- ‘ plied this passage to the preaching of the gospel.’—The tidings here to be proclaimed, ‘* Thy God, O Zion, reign- ‘* eth,” are the same that John Baptist,—and that Christ € himself published ;—‘*‘ The kingdom of heaven is at <¢ hand.” (Bp. Eowth.). (Mait. iii. 2.)
V.9,.10. The incorporation of the Gentile converts with the believing Jews, in the primitive times, replenished the waste places of Jerusalem, and caused great joy to all the faithful servants of God. Thus ‘‘the Lorb made bare «* his holy arm, in the eyes of all the nations,” to subject the worshippers of idols to himself: but when the whole visible church shall be full of true religion, the emphasis of this passage will be more fully answered, and this will
CHAPTER LIL.
B.C.*506,
12 For "ye shall not go out with, =-* si
i xiv. 2. Bx. xiif,
haste, nor go by flight: ‘for the Lorp 2 23. '»
£0. Deut. xx. 4. will go before you; and * the God of i", fis. it Israel will be * your rear-ward. kis be
18 ¥ Behold, ' my servant shall t deal” a.“xi. 2, 3. xiii. 2.
prudently, ™ he shall be exalted and ex- xix.’ 6 lilis U1,
7. XXXIV. 23,
tolled, and be very high. | Zech. iii. 8. A hed at theest on proper Bh 14 As ® many were astonished at thee; t Or proper. ti.
°(his visave was so marred more than’ Mere Jer. xin. any other man, and his form more than "2 9320"5 the sons of men ;) | xevii, 18, John
15 So shall he P sprinkle many nations; ph. 3. 209s:
i. 3I. Ve 22, 23,"
id e p iJ. ii. —_ e
the 2 kings shall shut their mouths at Hen. i-2Rer. a er Vv. 6—195,
him: * for that which had not been tolds Fs. bixi. 7.
them shall they see: .and that which they *i, 2s.
3 RXvii. 14. Mark had not heard shall they consider.
C vii. 37. xe 6. $2. Luke ii. 47, iv. 36. v. 26,
oO lL. 6. liii. Qemedy, Ps. xXii. 6, % 15—17,. cli. 3—5. Matt. XxVI. 67. xxvii. 29, 90. Lake xxii. 64. p.Num. viii. 7. Ez. xxxvi. 25. Matt. xxviile (0 Acts il. 33. Tit. iii. é, 6. Heb. ix. 13, id. Xs 22. Xi. 93. Xil. 4, 1 Pet. i. 2. q xix. 7. Q3. Job xxi<.9, 10. xl. 4. Ps. Ixxii, O11. Mic. vii. 16, 17. Zech. ii, 13. r lv, 5. Rom. xre 20, 23. xvi. 25, 296. Eph. iii, 59. .
make way literally, for ‘* a// the ends of the earth to see
“© the salvation of our God.” (Noves, xlix. 5, 6. Ps. xxii. 27—31. xcvili. 2, 3. Luke iil. 4—6. Rev. xi. 15—18.)
V. 11, 12. Here, the return of the Jews from Babylon is alluded to; but greater things are evidently prefigured.
- When leave was given them to return, the Lord commanded
their departure; and that no attachment to any object, in that unclean and devoted city, should stay them: (Notes, xlvili, go—22. Jer. }. 7, 8. li. 6. Lam. iv. 19~16. Zech. 1i,6—g:) and they, who carried back the sacred vessels, were required to be peculiarly careful not to contract ritual or moral uncleanness. (Lzra vill. 24— 30.) They must not needlessly delay their departure ; yet neither should they
-improperly hasten it, as if they were ficeing from their
enemics: (Notes, xxviii. 16. Lx. xii. g9:) fot they would have full liberty to return home, and the Lord would guide. and protect them on every side, through the whole journey. —St. Paul applics part of this to the separation of sinners . from idolatry, and wordly lusts and connexions: (Nore, - 2 Cor. vi. 14—18:) and a similar command, and caution are. given to believers to come out from the New Testament-. Babylon. (Note, Rev. xviii. 4—8.)
V.13—15. These verses introduce another subject, and. properly belong to the next chapter.—‘ The deliverance of the Jews from—Babylon ;—that of the Gentiles from their miserable state of ignorance and idolatry ; and— that of mankind from the captivity of sin and death ;— have a close connexion with each other ;’—* and the two. latter are shadowed out under the image of the former.— They are covered by it as-a veil, which, however, is- - transparent, and suffers them to appear through: it. The restoration of the Jews,—the call of the Gentiles,
the redemption by Messiah, have hitherto been handled interchangeably and alternately: but here Babylon is at. once dropped, and hardly ever comes in sight again.— The prophct’s views are almost wholly engrossed by the “ superior part of his subject.’ (Bp. Lowth.)—The Lord here speaks of his servant the Messiah, the Alpha and Omega, in all these transactions, and in every thing. else. (Note, xiii 1—4.) He would fulfil his-whole undertaking
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