Glorious things had been spoken in the previous chapters concerning the
deliverance of the Jews out of Babylon; but lest any should think, when
it was accomplished, that it looked much greater and brighter in the
prophecy than in the performance, and that the return of about 40,000
Jews in a poor condition out of Babylon to Jerusalem was not an event
sufficiently answering to the height and grandeur of the expressions
used in the prophecy, he here comes to show that the prophecy had a
further intention, and was to have its full accomplishment in a
redemption that should as far outdo these expressions as the other
seemed to come short of them, even the redemption of the world by Jesus
Christ, of whom not only Cyrus, who was God's servant in foretelling
it, was a type. In this chapter we have,
I. The designation of Christ, under the type of Isaiah, to his office
as Mediator,
Isaiah 49:1-3.
II. The assurance given him of the success of his undertaking among the
Gentiles,
Isaiah 49:4-8.
III. The redemption that should be wrought by him, and the progress of
that redemption,
Isaiah 49:9-12.
IV. The encouragement given hence to the afflicted church,
Isaiah 49:13-17.
V. The addition of many to it, and the setting up of a church among the
Gentiles,
Isaiah 49:18-23.
VI. A ratification of the prophecy of the Jews' release out of Babylon,
which was to be the figure and type of all these blessings,,
ver. 24-26.
If this chapter be rightly understood, we shall see ourselves to be
more concerned in the prophecies relating to the Jews' deliverance out
of Babylon than we thought we were.
Encouragement to the Gentiles.
B. C. 706.
1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far;
The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my
mother hath he made mention of my name.
2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow
of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his
quiver hath he hid me;
3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I
will be glorified.
4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my
strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is
with the LORD, and my work with my God.
5 And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be
his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not
gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my
God shall be my strength.
6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my
servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the
preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the
Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the
earth.
Here,
I. An auditory is summoned together and attention demanded. The sermon
in the foregoing chapter was directed to the house of Jacob and the
people of Israel,
Isaiah 49:1,12.
But this is directed to the isles (that is, the Gentiles, for they are
called the isles of the Gentiles,
Genesis 10:5)
and to the people from far, that were strangers to the
commonwealth of Israel, and afar off. Let these listen
(Isaiah 49:1)
as to a thing at a distance, which yet they are to hear with desire and
attention. Note,
1. The tidings of a Redeemer are sent to the Gentiles, and to those
that lie most remote; and they are concerned to listen to them.
2. The Gentiles listened to the gospel when the Jews were deaf to
it.
II. The great author and publisher of the redemption produces his
authority from heaven for the work he had undertaken.
1. God had appointed him and set him apart for it: The Lord has
called me from the womb to this office and made mention of my
name, nominated me to be the Saviour. By an angel he called him
Jesus--a Saviour, who should save his people from their
sins,
Matthew 1:21.
Nay, from the womb of the divine counsels, before all worlds, he was
called to this service, and help was laid upon him; and he came at the
call, for he said, Lo, I come, with an eye to what was written
of him in the volume of the book. This was said of some of the
prophets, as types of him,
Jeremiah 1:5.
Paul was separated to the apostleship from his mother's womb,
Galatians 1:15.
2. God had fitted and qualified him for the service to which he
designed him. He made his mouth like a sharp sword, and made
him like a polished shaft, or a bright arrow, furnished him
with every thing necessary to fight God's battles against the powers of
darkness, to conquer Satan, and bring back God's revolted subjects to
their allegiance, by his word: that is the two-edged sword
(Hebrews 4:12)
which comes out of his mouth,
Revelation 19:15.
The convictions of the word are the arrows that shall be sharp in the
hearts of sinners,
Psalms 45:5.
3. God had preferred him to the service for which he had reserved him:
He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand and in his quiver,
which denotes,
(1.) Concealment. The gospel of Christ, and the calling in of the
Gentiles by it, were long hidden from ages and generations, hidden in
God
(Ephesians 3:5,Ro+16:25),
hidden in the shadow of the ceremonial law and the Old-Testament types.
(2.) Protection. The house of David was the particular care of the
divine Providence, because that blessing was in it. Christ in his
infancy was sheltered from the rage of Herod.
4. God had owned him, had said unto him, "Thou art my servant,
whom I have employed and will prosper; thou art Israel, in effect,
the prince with God, that hast wrestled and prevailed; and in
thee I will be glorified." The people of God are Israel, and
they are all gathered together, summed up, as it were, in Christ, the
great representative of all Israel, as the high priest who had the
names of all the tribes on his breastplate; and in him God is and will
be glorified; so he said by a voice from heaven,
John 12:27,28.
Some read the words in two clauses: Thou art my servant (so
Christ is,
Isaiah 42:1);
it is Israel in whom I will be glorified by thee; it is the
spiritual Israel, the elect, in the salvation of whom by Jesus Christ
God will be glorified, and his free grace for ever admired.
III. He is assured of the good success of his undertaking; for whom God
calls he will prosper. And as to this,
1. He objects the discouragement he had met with at his first setting
out
(Isaiah 49:4):
"Then I said, with a sad heart, I have laboured in vain; those
that were ignorant, and careless, and strangers to God, are so still:
I have called, and they have refused; I have stretched out my
hands to a gainsaying people." This was Isaiah's complaint, but it
was no more than he was told to expect,
Isaiah 6:9.
The same was a temptation to Jeremiah to resolve he would labour no
more,
Jeremiah 20:9.
It is the complaint of many a faithful minister, that has not loitered,
but laboured, not spared, but spent, his strength, and himself with it,
and yet, as to many, it is all in vain and for nought; they will not be
prevailed with to repent and believe. But here it seems to point at
the obstinacy of the Jews, among whom Christ went in person preaching
the gospel of the kingdom, laboured and spent his strength, and yet the
rulers and the body of the nation rejected him and his doctrine; so
very few were brought in, when one would think none should have stood
out, that he might well say, "I have laboured in vain, preached
so many sermons, wrought so many miracles, in vain." Let not the
ministers think it strange that they are slighted when the Master
himself was.
2. He comforts himself under this discouragement with this
consideration, that it was the cause of God in which he was engaged and
the call of God that engaged him in it: Yet surely my judgment is
with the Lord, who is the Judge of all, and my work with my
God, whose servant I am. His comfort is, and it may be the comfort
of all faithful ministers, when they see little success of their
labours,
(1.) That, however it be, it is a righteous cause that they are
pleading. They are with God, and for God; they are on his side, and
workers together with him. They like not their judgment, the rule they
go by, nor their work, the business they are employed in, ever the
worse for this. The unbelief of men gives them no cause to suspect the
truth of their doctrine,
Romans 3:3.
(2.) That their management of this cause, and their prosecution of this
work, were known to God, and they could appeal to him concerning their
sincerity, and that it was not through any neglect of theirs that they
laboured in vain. "He knows the way that I take; my judgment is with
the Lord, to determine whether I have not delivered my soul and
left the blood of those that perish on their own heads."
(3.) Though the labour be in vain as to those that are laboured with,
yet not as to the labourer himself, if he be faithful: his judgment is
with the Lord, who will justify him and bear him out, though men
condemn him and run him down; and his work (the reward of his work) is
with his God, who will take care he shall be no loser, no, not by his
lost labour.
(4.) Though the judgment be not yet brought forth unto victory, nor the
work to perfection, yet both are with the Lord, to carry them on and
give them success, according to his purpose, in his own way and
time.
3. He receives from God a further answer to this objection,
Isaiah 49:5,6.
He knew very well that God had set him on work, had formed him from
the womb to be his servant, had not only called him so early to it
(Isaiah 49:1),
but begun so early to fit him for it and dispose him to it. Those whom
God designs to employ as his servants he is fashioning and preparing to
be so long before, when perhaps neither themselves nor others are aware
of it. It is he that forms the spirit of man within him. Christ was to
be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, that had
treacherously departed from him. The seed of Jacob therefore, according
to the flesh, must first be dealt with, and means used to bring them
back. Christ, and the word of salvation by him, are sent to them first;
nay, Christ comes in person to them only, to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel. But what if Jacob will not be brought back to God
and Israel will not be gathered? So it proved; but this is a
satisfaction in that case,
(1.) Christ will be glorious in the eyes of the Lord; and those are
truly glorious that are so in God's eyes. Though few of the Jewish
nation were converted by Christ's preaching and miracles, and many of
them loaded him with ignominy and disgrace, yet God put honour upon
him, and made him glorious, at his baptism, and in his transfiguration,
spoke to him from heaven, sent angels to minister to him, made even his
shameful death glorious by the many prodigies that attended it, much
more his resurrection. In his sufferings God was his strength, so that
though he met with all the discouragement imaginable, by the contempts
of a people whom he had done so much to oblige, yet he did not fail
nor was discouraged. An angel was sent from heaven to
strengthen him,
Luke 22:43.
Faithful ministers, though they see not the fruit of their labours,
shall yet be accepted of God, and in that they shall be truly glorious,
for his favour is our honour; and they shall be assisted to proceed and
persevere in their labours notwithstanding. This weakens their hands,
but their God will be their strength.
(2.) The gospel shall be glorious in the eyes of the world; though it
be not so in the eyes of the Jews, yet it shall be entertained by the
nations,
Isaiah 49:6.
The Messiah seemed as if he had been primarily designed to bring
Jacob back,
Isaiah 49:5.
But he is here told that it is comparatively but a small matter; a
higher orb of honour than that, and a larger sphere of usefulness, are
designed him: "It is a light thing that thou shouldst be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob to the dignity and dominion they
expect by the Messiah, and to restore the preserved of Israel,
and make them a flourishing church and state as formerly" (nay,
considering what a little handful of people they are, it would be but a
small matter, in comparison, for the Messiah to be the Saviour of them
only); "and therefore I will give thee for a light to the
Gentiles (many great and mighty nations by the gospel of Christ
shall be brought to the knowledge and worship of the true God), that
thou mayest be my salvation, the author of that salvation which I
have designed for lost man, and this to the end of the earth, to
nations at the greatest distance." Hence Simeon learned to call Christ
a light to lighten the Gentiles
(Luke 2:32),
and St. Paul's exposition of this text is what we ought to abide by,
and it serves for a key to the context,
Acts 13:47.
Therefore, says he, we turn to the Gentiles, to preach the
gospel to them, because so has the Lord commanded us, saying, I have
set thee to be a light to the Gentiles. In this the Redeemer was
truly glorious, though Israel was not gathered; the setting up of his
kingdom in the Gentile world was more his honour than if he had raised
up all the tribes of Jacob. This promise is in part fulfilled already,
and will have a further accomplishment, if that time be yet to come
which the apostle speaks of, when the fulness of the Gentiles shall be
brought in. Observe, God calls it his salvation, which some think
intimates how well pleased he was with it, how he gloried in it, and
(if I may so say) how much his heart was upon it. They further observe
that Christ is given for a light to all those to whom he is given for
salvation. It is in darkness that men perish. Christ enlightens men's
eyes, and so makes them holy and happy.
Encouragement to the Gentiles.
B. C. 706.
7 Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy
One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth,
to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also
shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the
Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.
8 Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee,
and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve
thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish
the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;
9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that
are in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways,
and their pastures shall be in all high places.
10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor
sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them,
even by the springs of water shall he guide them.
11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways
shall be exalted.
12 Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the
north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.
In these verses we have,
I. The humiliation and exaltation of the Messiah
(Isaiah 49:7):
The Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and Israel's Holy One, who had
always taken care of the Jewish church and wrought out for them those
deliverances that were typical of the great salvation, speaks here to
him, who was the undertaker of that salvation. And,
1. He takes notice of his humiliation, the instances of which were
uncommon, nay, unparalleled. He was one whom man despised. He
is despised and rejected of men,
Isaiah 53:3.
To be despised by so mean a creature (man, who is himself a worm)
bespeaks the lowest and most contemptible condition imaginable. Man,
whom he came to save and to put honour upon, yet despised him and put
contempt upon him; so wretchedly ungrateful were his persecutors. The
ignominy he underwent was not the least of his sufferings. They not
only made him despicable, but odious. He was one whom the nation
abhorred; they treated him as the worst of men, and cried out,
Crucify him, crucify him. The nation did it, the Gentiles as
well as Jews, and the Jews herein worse than Gentiles; for his cross
was to the one a stumbling-block and to the other
foolishness. He was a servant of rulers; he was trampled
upon, abused, scourged, and crucified as a slave. Pilate boasted of his
power over him,
John 19:10.
This he submitted to for our salvation.
2. He promises him his exaltation. Honour was done him even in the
depth of his humiliation. Herod the king stood in awe of him, saying,
I it John the Baptist; noblemen, rulers, centurions came and
kneeled to him. But this was more fully accomplished when kings
received his gospel, and submitted to his yoke, and joined in the
worship of him, and called themselves the vassals of Christ. Not that
Christ values the rich more than the poor (they stand upon a level with
him), but it is for the honour of his kingdom among men when the great
ones of the earth appear for him and do homage to him. This shall be
the accomplishment of God's promise, and he will give him the heathen
for his inheritance, and therefore it shall be done, because
of the Lord who is faithful and true to his promise; and this shall
be an evidence that Christ had a commission for what he did, and that
God had chosen him, and would own the choice he had made.
II. The blessings he has in store for all those to whom he is made
salvation.
1. God will own and stand by him in his undertaking
(Isaiah 49:8):
In an acceptable time have I heard thee, that is, I will hear
thee. Christ, in the days of his flesh, offered up strong cries,
and was heard,
Hebrews 5:7.
He knew that the Father heard him always
(John 11:42),
heard him for himself (for, though the cup might not pass from him, yet
he was enabled to drink it), heard him for all that are his, and
therefore he interceded for them as one having authority. Father, I
will,
John 17:24.
All our happiness results from the Son's interest in the Father and the
prevalency of his intercession, that he always heard him; and this
makes the gospel time an acceptable time, welcome to us, because we are
accepted of God, both reconciled and recommended to him, that God hears
the Redeemer for us,
Hebrews 7:25.
Nor will he hear him only, but help him to go through with his
undertaking. The Father was always with him at his right hand, and did
not leave him when his disciples did. Violent attacks were made upon
our Lord Jesus by the powers of darkness, when it was their hour, to
drive him off from his undertakings, but God promises to preserve him
and enable him to persevere in it; on that one stone were seven
eyes,
Zechariah 3:9.
God would preserve him, would preserve his interest, his kingdom among
men, though fought against on all sides. Christ is preserved while
Christianity is.
2. God will authorize him to apply to his church the benefits of the
redemption he is to work out. God's preserving and helping him was to
make the day of his gospel a day of salvation. And so the apostle
understands it: Behold, now is the day of salvation, now the
word of reconciliation by Christ is preached,
2 Corinthians 6:2.
(1.) He shall be guarantee of the treaty of peace between God and man:
I will give thee for a covenant of the people. This we had
before
(Isaiah 42:6),
and it is here repeated as faithful, and well worthy of all acceptation
and observation. He is given for a covenant, that is, for a pledge of
all the blessings of the covenant. It was in him that God was
reconciling the world to himself; and he that spared not his
own Son will deny us nothing. He is given for a covenant, not only
as he is the Mediator of the covenant, the blessed days-man who has
laid his hand upon us both, but as he is all in all in the
covenant. All the duty of the covenant is summed up in our being his;
and all the privilege and happiness of the covenant are summed up in
his being ours.
(2.) He shall repair the decays of the church and build it upon a rock.
He shall establish the earth, or rather the land, the
land of Judea, a type of the church. He shall cause the desolate
heritages to be inherited; so the cities of Judah were after the
return out of captivity, and so the church, which in the last and
degenerate ages of the Jewish nation had been as a country laid waste,
but was again replenished by the fruits of the preaching of the
gospel.
(3.) He shall free the souls of men from the bondage of guilt and
corruption and bring them into the glorious liberty of God's children.
He shall say to the prisoners that were bound over to the
justice of God, and bound under the power of Satan, Go forth,
Isaiah 49:9.
Pardoning mercy is a release from the curse of the law, and renewing
grace is a release from the dominion of sin. Both are from Christ, and
are branches of the great salvation. It is he that says, Go
forth; it is the Son that makes us free, and then we are free
indeed. He saith to those that are in darkness, Show yourselves;
"not only see, but be seen, to the glory of God and your
own comfort." When he discharged the lepers from their confinement, he
said, Go show yourselves to the priest. When we see the light,
let our light shine.
(4.) He shall provide for the comfortable passage of those whom he sets
at liberty to the place of their rest and happy settlement,
Isaiah 49:9-11.
These verses refer to the provision made for the Jews' return out of
their captivity, who were taken under the particular care of the divine
Providence, as favourites of Heaven, and now so in a special manner;
but they are applicable to that guidance of divine grace which all
God's spiritual Israel are under, from their release out of bondage to
their settlement in the heavenly Canaan.
[1.] They shall have their charges borne and shall be fed at free cost
with food convenient: They shall feed in the ways, as sheep; for
now, as formerly, God leads Joseph like a flock. When God
pleases even highway ground shall be good ground for the sheep of his
pasture to feed in. Their pastures shall be not only in the valleys,
but in all high places, which are commonly dry and barren.
Wherever God brings his people he will take care they shall want
nothing that is good for them,
Psalms 34:10.
And so well shall they be provided for that they shall not hunger nor
thirst, for what they need they shall have seasonably, before their
need of it comes to an extremity.
[2.] They shall be sheltered and protected from every thing that would
incommode them: Neither shall the heat nor sun smite them, or
God causes his flock to rest at noon,
Song of Solomon 1:7.
No evil thing shall befal those that put themselves under a divine
protection; they shall be enabled to bear the burden and heat of the
day.
[3.] They shall be under God's gracious guidance: He that has mercy
on them, in bringing them out of their captivity, shall lead
them, as he did their fathers in the wilderness, by a pillar of
cloud and fire. Even by springs of water, which will be ready to
them in their march, shall he guide them. God will furnish them
with suitable and seasonable comforts, not like the pools of rainwater
in the valley of Baca, but like the water out of the rock which
followed Israel. Those who are under a divine guidance, and follow that
closely, while they do so, may, upon good grounds, hope for divine
comforts and cordials. The world leads its followers by broken
cisterns, or brooks that fail in summer; but God leads those that are
his by springs of water. And those whom God guides shall find a ready
road and all obstacles removed
(Isaiah 49:11):
I will make all my mountains a way. He that in times past made
the sea a way, now with as much ease will make the mountains a way,
though they seemed impassable. The highway, or causeway, shall be
raised, to make it both the plainer and the fairer. Note, The ways in
which God leads his people he himself will be the overseer of, and will
take care that they be well mended and kept in repair, as of old the
ways that led to the cities of refuge. The levelling of the roads from
Babylon, as it was foretold
(Isaiah 40:2,3),
was applied to gospel work, and so may this be. Though there be
difficulties in the way to heaven, which we cannot by our own strength
get over, yet the grace of God shall be sufficient to help us over them
and to make even the mountains a way,
Isaiah 35:8.
(5.) He shall bring them all together from all parts, that they may
return in a body, that they may encourage one another and be the more
taken notice of. They were dispersed into several parts of the country
of Babylon, as their enemies pleased, to prevent any combination among
themselves. But, when God's time shall come to bring them home
together, one spirit shall animate them all, all that lie at the
greatest distance from each other, and those also that had taken
shelter in other countries shall meet them in the land of Judah,
Isaiah 49:12.
Here shall a party come from far, some from the north,
some from the west, some from the land of Sinim, which
probably is some province of Babylon not elsewhere named in scripture,
but some make it to be a country belonging to one of the chief cities
of Egypt, called Sin, of which we read,
Ezekiel 30:15,16.
Now this promise was to have a further accomplishment in the great
confluence of converts to the gospel church, and its full
accomplishment when God's chosen shall come from the east and from the
west to sit down with the patriarchs in the kingdom of God,
Matthew 8:11.
Encouragement to Zion.
B. C. 706.
13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth
into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his
people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
14 But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath
forgotten me.
15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not
have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet
will I not forget thee.
16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy
walls are continually before me.
17 Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that
made thee waste shall go forth of thee.
The scope of these verses is to show that the return of the people of
God out of their captivity, and the eternal redemption to be wrought
out by Christ (of which that was a type), would be great occasions of
joy to the church and great proofs of the tender care God has of the
church.
I. Nothing can furnish us with better matter for songs of praise and
thanksgiving,
Isaiah 49:13.
Let the whole creation join with us in songs of joy, for it shares with
us in the benefits of the redemption, and all they can contribute to
this sacred melody is little enough in return for such inestimable
favours,
Psalms 96:11.
Let there be joy in heaven, and let the angels of God celebrate the
praises of the great Redeemer; let the earth and the mountains,
particularly the great ones of the earth, be joyful, and
break forth into singing, for the earnest expectation of the
creature that waits for the glorious liberty of the children of
God
(Romans 8:19,21)
shall now be abundantly answered. God's people are the blessings
and ornaments of the world, and therefore let there be universal joy,
for God has comforted his people that were in sorrow and he
will have mercy upon the afflicted because of his compassion, upon
his afflicted because of his covenant.
II. Nothing can furnish us with more convincing arguments to prove the
most tender and affectionate concern God has for his church, and her
interests and comforts.
1. The troubles of the church have given some occasion to question
God's care and concern for it,
Isaiah 49:14.
Zion, in distress, said, The Lord has forsaken me, and
looks after me no more; my Lord has forgotten me, and
will look after me no more. See how deplorable the case of
God's people may be sometimes, such that they may seem to be forsaken
and forgotten of their God; and at such a time their temptations may be
alarmingly violent. Infidels, in their presumption, say God has
forsaken the earth
(Ezekiel 8:12),
and has forgotten their sins,
Psalms 10:11.
Weak believers, in their despondency, are ready to say, "God has
forsaken his church and forgotten the sorrows of his people." But we
have no more reason to question his promise and grace than we have to
question his providence and justice. He is as sure a rewarder as he is
a revenger. Away therefore with these distrusts and jealousies, which
are the bane of friendship.
2. The triumphs of the church, after her troubles, will in due time put
the matter out of question.
(1.) What God will do for Zion we are told,
Isaiah 49:17.
[1.] Her friends, who had deserted her, shall be gathered to her, and
shall contribute their utmost to her assistance and comfort: Thy
children shall make haste. Converts to the faith of Christ are the
children of the church; they shall join themselves to her with great
readiness and cheerfulness, and flock into the communion of saints, as
doves to their windows. "Thy builders shall make haste" (so some
read it), "who shall build up thy houses, thy walls, especially thy
temple; they shall do it with expedition." Church work is usually slow
work; but, when God's time shall come, it shall be done suddenly.
[2.] Her enemies, who had threatened and assaulted her, shall be forced
to withdraw from her: Thy destroyers, and those who made thee
waste, who had made themselves masters of the country and ravaged
it, shall go forth of thee. By Christ the prince of this world,
the great destroyer, is cast out, is dispossessed, has his power broken
and his attempts quite baffled.
(2.) Now by this it will appear that Zion's suggestions were altogether
groundless, that God has not forsaken her, nor forgotten her, nor ever
will. Be assured,
[1.] That God has a tender affection for his church and people,
Isaiah 49:15.
In answer to Zion's fears, God speaks as one concerned for his own
glory (he takes himself to be reflected upon if Zion say, The Lord
has forsaken me, and he will clear himself), as one concerned also
for his people's comfort; he would not have them droop, and be
discouraged, and give way to any uneasy thoughts. "You think that I
have forgotten you. Can a woman forget her sucking child?"
First, It is not likely that she should. A woman, whose honour it
is to be of the tender sex as well as the fair one, cannot but have
compassion for a child, which, being both harmless and helpless, is a
proper object of compassion. A mother, especially, cannot but be
concerned for her own child; for it is her own, a piece of herself, and
very lately one with her. A nursing mother, most of all, cannot but be
tender of her sucking child; her own breasts will soon put her in mind
of it if she should forget it. But, Secondly, It is possible
that she may forget. A woman may perhaps be so unhappy as not to be
able to remember her sucking child (she may be sick, and dying, and
going to the land of forgetfulness), or she may be so unnatural as not
to have compassion on the son of her womb, as those who, to
conceal their shame, are the death of their children as soon as they
are their life,
Lamentations 4:10,De+28:57.
But, says God, I will not forget thee. Note, God's compassions
to his people infinitely exceed those of the tenderest parents towards
their children. What are the affections of nature to those of the God
of nature!
[2.] That he has a constant care of his church and people
(Isaiah 49:16):
I have engraven thee upon the palms of my hands. This does not
allude to the foolish art of palmistry, which imagines every man's fate
to be engraved in the palms of his hands and to be legible in the lines
there, but to the custom of those who tie a string upon their hands or
fingers to put them in mind of things which they are afraid they shall
forget, or to the wearing of signet or locket-rings in remembrance of
some dear friend. His setting them thus as a seal upon his arm denotes
his setting them as a seal upon his heart, and his being ever mindful
of them and their interests,
Song of Solomon 8:6.
If we bind God's law as a sign upon our hand
(Deuteronomy 6:8,11,18),
he will engrave our interests as a sign on his hand, and will look upon
that and remember the covenant. He adds, "Thy walls shall be
continually before me; thy ruined walls, though no pleasing
spectacle, shall be in my thoughts of compassion." Do Zions' friends
favour her dust?
Psalms 102:14.
So does her God. Or, "The plan and model of thy walls, that are to be
rebuilt, is before me, and they shall certainly be built according to
it." Or, "Thy walls (that is, thy safety) are my continual care; so are
the watchmen on thy walls." Some apply his engraving his church on the
palms of his hands to the wounds in Christ's hands when he was
crucified; he will look on the marks of them, and remember those for
whom he suffered and died.
Encouragement to Zion.
B. C. 706.
18 Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather
themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the
LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an
ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.
19 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy
destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the
inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.
20 The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the
other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait
for me: give place to me that I may dwell.
21 Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me
these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a
captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these?
Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?
22 Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to
the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they
shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be
carried upon their shoulders.
23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy
nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face
toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou
shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed
that wait for me.
Two things are here promised, which were to be in part accomplished in
the reviving of the Jewish church after its return out of captivity,
but more fully in the planting of the Christian church by the preaching
of the gospel of Christ; and we may take the comfort of these
promises.
I. That the church shall be replenished with great numbers added to it.
It was promised
(Isaiah 49:17)
that her children should make haste; that promise is here
enlarged upon, and is made very encouraging. It is promised,
1. That multitudes shall flock to the church from all parts. Look
round, and see how they gather themselves to thee
(Isaiah 49:18),
by a local accession to the Jewish church. They come to Jerusalem from
all the adjacent countries, for that was then the centre of their
unity; but, under the gospel, it is by a spiritual accession to the
mystical body of Christ in faith and love. Those that come to Jesus
as the Mediator of the new covenant do thereby come to the Mount
Zion, the church of the first-born,
Hebrews 12:22,23.
Lift up thy eyes, and behold how the fields are white unto
the harvest,
John 4:35.
Note, It is matter of joy to the church to see a multitude of converts
to Christ.
2. That such as are added to the church shall not be a burden and
blemish to her, but her strength and ornament. This part of the promise
is confirmed with an oath: As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt
surely clothe thyself with them all. The addition of such numbers
to the church shall complete her clothing; and, when all that were
chosen are effectually called, then the bride, the Lamb's wife, shall
have made herself ready, shall be quite dressed,
Revelation 19:7.
They shall make her to appear comely and considerable; and she shall
therefore bind them on with as much care and complacency as a bride
does her ornaments. When those that are added to the church are
serious, and holy, and exemplary in their conversation, they are an
ornament to it.
3. That thus the country which was waste and desolate, and without
inhabitant
(Isaiah 5:9,6:11),
shall be again peopled, nay, it shall be over-peopled
(Isaiah 49:19):
"Thy waste and thy desolate places, that have long lain so,
and the land of thy destruction, that land of thine which was
destroyed with thee and which nobody cared for dwelling in, shall now
be so full of people that there shall be no room for the inhabitants."
Here is blessing poured out till there be not room enough to receive
it,
Malachi 3:10.
Not that they shall be crowded by their enemies, or straitened for
room, as Abraham and Lot were, because of the Canaanite in the land.
"No, those that swallow thee up, and took possession of thy land
when thy possession of it was discontinued, shall be far away.
Thy people shall be numerous, and there shall be no stranger, no enemy,
among them." Thus the kingdom of God among men, which had been
impoverished and almost depopulated, partly by the corruptions of the
Jewish church and partly by the abominations of the Gentile world, was
again peopled and enriched by the setting up of the Christian church,
and by its graces and glories.
4. That the new converts shall strangely increase and multiply.
Jerusalem, after she has lost abundance of her children by the sword,
famine, and captivity, shall have a new family growing up instead of
them, children which she shall have after she has lost the other
(Isaiah 49:20),
as Seth, who was appointed another seed instead of Abel, and
Job's children, which God blessed him with instead of those that were
killed in the ruins of the house. God will repair his church's losses
and secure to himself a seed to serve him in it. It is promised to the
Jews, after their return, that Jerusalem shall be full of boys and
girls playing in the streets,
Zechariah 8:5.
The church, after it has lost the Jews, who will be cut off by their
own infidelity, shall have abundance of children still, more than she
had when the Jews belonged to her. See
Galatians 4:27.
They shall be so numerous that,
(1.) The Children shall complain for want of room; they shall say (and
it is a good hearing), "Our numbers increase so fast that the place
is too strait for us;" as the sons of the prophets complained,
2 Kings 6:1.
But, strait as the place is, still more shall desire to be admitted,
and the church shall gladly admit them, and the inconvenient straitness
of the place shall be no hindrance to either; for it will be found,
whatever we think, that even when the poor and the maimed, the halt
and the blind, are brought in, yet still there is room, room
enough for those that are in and room for more,
Luke 14:21,22.
(2.) The mother shall stand amazed at the increase of her family,
Isaiah 49:21.
She shall say, Who has begotten me these? and, Who has
brought up these? They come to her with all the duty, affection,
and submission of children; and yet she never bore any pain for them,
nor took any pains with them, but has them ready reared to her hand.
This gives her a pleasing surprise, and she cannot but be astonished at
it, considering what her condition had been very lately and very long.
The Jewish nation had left her children; they were cut off. She had
been desolate, without ark, and altar, and temple-service, those tokens
of God's espousals to them; nay, she had been a captive, and
continually removing to and fro, in an unsettled condition, and not
likely to bring up children either for God or herself. She was left
alone in obscurity (this is Zion whom no man seeks after), left
in all the solitude and sorrow of a widowed state. How then came she to
be thus replenished? See here,
[1.] That the church is not perpetually visible, but there are times
when it is desolate, and left alone, and made few in number.
[2.] That yet on the other hand its desolations shall not be perpetual,
nor will it be found too hard for God to repair them, and out of stones
to raise up children unto Abraham.
[3.] That sometimes this is done in a very surprising way, as when a
nation is born at once,
Isaiah 66:8.
5. That this shall be done with the help of the Gentiles,
Isaiah 49:22.
The Jews were cast off, among whom it was expected that the church
should be built up; but God will sow it to himself in the earth,
and will thence reap a plentiful crop,
Hosea 2:23.
Observe,
(1.) How the Gentiles shall be called in. God will lift up his hand
to them, to invite or beckon them, having all the day stretched it
out in vain to the Jews,
Isaiah 65:2.
Or it denotes the exerting of an almighty power, that of his Spirit and
grace, to compel them to come in, to make them willing. And he will
set up his standard to them, the preaching of the everlasting
gospel, to which they shall gather, and under which they shall enlist
themselves.
(2.) How they shall come: They shall bring thy sons in their
arms. They shall assist the sons of Zion, which are found among
them, in their return to their own country, and shall forward them with
as much tenderness as ever any parent carried a child that was weak and
helpless. God can raise up friends for returning Israelites even among
Gentiles. The earth helped the woman,
Revelation 12:16.
Or, "When they come themselves, they shall bring their children, and
make them thy children;" compare
Isaiah 60:4.
"Dost thou ask, Who has begotten and brought up these? Know that
they were begotten and brought up among the Gentiles, but they are now
brought into thy family." Let all that are concerned about young
converts, and young beginners in religion, learn hence to deal very
tenderly and carefully with them, as Christ does with the lambs which
he gathers with his arms and carries in his bosom.
II. That the church shall have a great and prevailing interest in the
nations,
Isaiah 49:22,23.
1. Some of the princes of the nations shall become patrons and
protectors to the church: King shall be thy nursing fathers, to
carry thy sons in their arms (as Moses,
Numbers 11:12);
and, because women are the most proper nurses, their queens shall be
thy nursing mothers. This promise was in part fulfilled to the
Jews, after their return out of captivity. Several of the kings of
Persia were very tender of their interests, countenanced and encouraged
them, as Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes; Esther the queen was a nursing
mother to the Jews that remained in their captivity, putting her life
in her hand to snatch the child out of the flames. The Christian
church, after a long captivity, was happy in some such kings and queens
as Constantine and his mother Helena, and afterwards Theodosius, and
others, who nursed the church with all possible care and tenderness.
Whenever the sceptre of government is put into the hands of religious
princes, then this promise is fulfilled. The church in this world is in
an infant state, and it is in the power of princes and magistrates to
do it a great deal of service; it is happy when they do so, when their
power is a praise to those that do well.
2. Others of them, who stand it out against the church's interests,
will be forced to yield and to repent of their opposition: They
shall bow down to thee and lick the dust. The promise to the church
of Philadelphia seems to be borrowed from this
(Revelation 3:9):
I will make those of the synagogue of Satan to come and worship
before thy feet. Or it may be meant of the willing subjection which
kings and kingdoms shall pay to Christ the church's King, as he
manifests himself in the church
(Psalms 72:11):
All kings shall fall down before him. And by all this it shall
be made to appear,
(1.) That God is the Lord, the sovereign Lord of all, against whom
there is no standing out nor rising up.
(2.) That those who wait for him, in a dependence upon his promise and
a resignation to his will, shall not be made ashamed of their hope; for
the vision of peace is for an appointed time, and at the end it
shall speak and shall not lie.
Encouragement to Zion.
B. C. 706.
24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful
captive delivered?
25 But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty
shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be
delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee,
and I will save thy children.
26 And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh;
and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet
wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour
and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
Here is,
I. An objection started against the promise of the Jews' release out of
their captivity in Babylon, suggesting that it was a thing not to be
expected; for
(Isaiah 49:24)
they were a prey in the hand of the mighty, of such as were then the
greatest potentates on earth, and therefore it was not likely they
should be rescued by force. Yet that was not all: they were lawful
captives; by the law of God, having offended, they were justly
delivered into captivity; and by the law of nations, being taken in
war, they were justly detained in captivity till they should be
ransomed or exchanged. Now this is spoken either,
1. By the enemies, as justifying themselves in their refusal to let
them go. They plead both might and right. Proud men think all their own
that they can lay their hands on and their title good if they have but
the longest sword. Or,
2. By their friends, either in a way of distrust, despairing of the
deliverance ("for who is able to deal with those that detain us, either
by force of arms or a treaty of peace?"), or in a way of thankfulness,
admiring the deliverance. "Who would have thought that ever the prey
should be taken from the mighty? Yet it is done." This is
applicable to our redemption by Christ. As to Satan, we were a prey in
the hand of the mighty, and yet delivered even from him that had the
power of death, by him that had the power of life. As to the justice of
God, we were lawful captives, and yet delivered by a price of
inestimable value.
II. This objection answered by an express promise, and a further
promise; for God's promises being all yea, and amen, they may well
serve to corroborate one another.
1. Here is an express promise with a
non-obstante--notwithstanding to the strength of the enemy
(Isaiah 49:25):
"Even the captives of the mighty, though they are mighty, shall
be taken away, and it is to no purpose for them to oppose it; and
the prey of the terrible, though they are terrible, shall be
delivered; and, as they cannot with all their strength outforce, so
they cannot with all their impudence outface, the deliverance, and the
counsels of God concerning it." The Lord saith thus, who, having
all power and all hearts in his hands is able to make his words good.
2. Here is a further promise, showing how, and in what way, God will
bring about the deliverance. He will bring judgments upon the
oppressors, and so will work salvation for the oppressed: "I will
contend with him that contends with thee, will plead thy cause
against those that justify themselves in oppressing thee; whoever it
be, though but a single person, that contends with thee, he shall know
that it is at his peril, and thus I will save thy children." The
captives shall be delivered by leading captivity captive, that
is, sending those into captivity that had held God's people captive,
Revelation 13:10.
Nay, they shall have blood for blood
(Isaiah 49:26):
"I will feed those that oppress thee with their own flesh, and
they shall be drunken with their own blood. The proud
Babylonians shall become not only an easy, but an acceptable, prey to
one another. God will send a dividing spirit among them, and their
ruin, which was begun by a foreign invasion, shall be completed by
their intestine divisions. They shall bite and devour one
another, till they are consumed one of another. They shall
greedily and with delight prey upon those that are their own flesh and
blood." God can make the oppressors of his church to be their own
tormentors and their own destroyers. The New-Testament Babylon, having
made herself drunk with the blood of the saints, shall have blood
given her to drink, for she is worthy. See how cruel men sometimes
are to themselves and to one another: indeed those who are so to others
are so to themselves, for God's justice and men's revenge will mete to
them what they have measured to others. They not only thirst after
blood, but drink it so greedily that they are drunken with it, and with
as much pleasure as if it were sweet wine. If God had not more mercy on
sinners than they would have one upon another were their passions let
loose, the world would be soon an Aceldama, nay, a
desolation.
III. See what will be the effect of Babylon's ruin: All flesh shall
know that I the Lord am thy Saviour. God will make it to appear, to
the conviction of all the world, that, though Israel seem lost and cast
off, they have a Redeemer, and, though they are made a prey to the
mighty, Jacob has a mighty One, who is able to deal with all his
enemies. God intends, by the deliverances of his church, both to notify
and to magnify his own name.
Matthew Henry "Verse by Verse Commentary for 'Isaiah' Matthew Henry Bible Commentary".
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