mh_parser/vol_split/23 - Isaiah/Chapter 49.xml

<div2 id="Is.l" n="l" next="Is.li" prev="Is.xlix" progress="18.58%" title="Chapter XLIX">
<h2 id="Is.l-p0.1">I S A I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Is.l-p0.2">CHAP. XLIX.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Is.l-p1" shownumber="no">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, <scripRef id="Is.l-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.1-Isa.49.3" parsed="|Isa|49|1|49|3" passage="Isa 49:1-3">ver. 1-3</scripRef>. II. The assurance given him of
the success of his undertaking among the Gentiles, <scripRef id="Is.l-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.4-Isa.49.8" parsed="|Isa|49|4|49|8" passage="Isa 49:4-8">ver. 4-8</scripRef>. III. The redemption that
should be wrought by him, and the progress of that redemption,
<scripRef id="Is.l-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.9-Isa.49.12" parsed="|Isa|49|9|49|12" passage="Isa 49:9-12">ver. 9-12</scripRef>. IV. The
encouragement given hence to the afflicted church, <scripRef id="Is.l-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.13-Isa.49.17" parsed="|Isa|49|13|49|17" passage="Isa 49:13-17">ver. 13-17</scripRef>. V. The addition of
many to it, and the setting up of a church among the Gentiles,
<scripRef id="Is.l-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.18-Isa.49.23" parsed="|Isa|49|18|49|23" passage="Isa 49:18-23">ver. 18-23</scripRef>. 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,,
<scripRef id="Is.l-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.24-Isa.49.26" parsed="|Isa|49|24|49|26" passage="Isa 49:24-26">ver. 24-26</scripRef>. 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.</p>
<scripCom id="Is.l-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49" parsed="|Isa|49|0|0|0" passage="Isa 49" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Is.l-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.1-Isa.49.6" parsed="|Isa|49|1|49|6" passage="Isa 49:1-6" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.l-p1.9">
<h4 id="Is.l-p1.10">Encouragement to the
Gentiles. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.l-p1.11">b. c.</span> 706.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.l-p2" shownumber="no">1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye
people, from far; The <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.l-p2.1">Lord</span> 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 <i>art</i> 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: <i>yet</i> surely my
judgment <i>is</i> with the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.l-p2.2">Lord</span>,
and my work with my God.   5 And now, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.l-p2.3">Lord</span> that formed me from the womb <i>to be</i>
his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not
gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.l-p2.4">Lord</span>, 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p3" shownumber="no">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, <scripRef id="Is.l-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.1 Bible:Isa.49.12" parsed="|Isa|49|1|0|0;|Isa|49|12|0|0" passage="Isa 49:1,12"><i>v.</i> 1, 12</scripRef>. But this is
directed to the isles (that is, the Gentiles, for they are called
<i>the isles of the Gentiles,</i> <scripRef id="Is.l-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.10.5" parsed="|Gen|10|5|0|0" passage="Ge 10:5">Gen.
x. 5</scripRef>) and to <i>the people from far,</i> that were
<i>strangers to the commonwealth of Israel,</i> and afar off. Let
these listen (<scripRef id="Is.l-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.1" parsed="|Isa|49|1|0|0" passage="Isa 49:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>)
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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p4" shownumber="no">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:
<i>The Lord has called me from the womb</i> to this office and
<i>made mention of my name,</i> nominated me to be the Saviour. By
an angel he called him <i>Jesus—a Saviour,</i> who <i>should save
his people from their sins,</i> <scripRef id="Is.l-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.1.21" parsed="|Matt|1|21|0|0" passage="Mt 1:21">Matt.
i. 21</scripRef>. 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, <i>Lo, I come,</i> with
an eye to what was written of him <i>in the volume of the book.</i>
This was said of some of the prophets, as types of him, <scripRef id="Is.l-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.1.5" parsed="|Jer|1|5|0|0" passage="Jer 1:5">Jer. i. 5</scripRef>. Paul was separated to the
apostleship from his mother's womb, <scripRef id="Is.l-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.15" parsed="|Gal|1|15|0|0" passage="Ga 1:15">Gal. i. 15</scripRef>. 2. God had fitted and qualified
him for the service to which he designed him. He <i>made his mouth
like a sharp sword,</i> and <i>made him</i> like <i>a polished
shaft,</i> 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 <i>two-edged sword</i>
(<scripRef id="Is.l-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:Heb.4.12" parsed="|Heb|4|12|0|0" passage="Heb 4:12">Heb. iv. 12</scripRef>) which comes
out of his mouth, <scripRef id="Is.l-p4.5" osisRef="Bible:Rev.19.15" parsed="|Rev|19|15|0|0" passage="Re 19:15">Rev. xix.
15</scripRef>. The convictions of the word are the arrows that
shall be sharp in the hearts of sinners, <scripRef id="Is.l-p4.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.45.5" parsed="|Ps|45|5|0|0" passage="Ps 45:5">Ps. xlv. 5</scripRef>. 3. God had preferred him to the
service for which he had reserved him: <i>He has hidden me in the
shadow of his hand</i> 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 (<scripRef id="Is.l-p4.7" osisRef="Bible:Eph.3.5 Bible:Rom.16.25" parsed="|Eph|3|5|0|0;|Rom|16|25|0|0" passage="Eph 3:5,Ro 16:25">Eph. iii. 5, Rom. xvi.
25</scripRef>), 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, "<i>Thou art my
servant,</i> whom I have employed and will prosper; thou art
Israel, in effect, <i>the prince with God,</i> that hast wrestled
and prevailed; and in thee I will be glorified." The people of God
are <i>Israel,</i> 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, <scripRef id="Is.l-p4.8" osisRef="Bible:John.12.27-John.12.28" parsed="|John|12|27|12|28" passage="Joh 12:27,28">John xii. 27,
28</scripRef>. Some read the words in two clauses: <i>Thou art my
servant</i> (so Christ is, <scripRef id="Is.l-p4.9" osisRef="Bible:Isa.42.1" parsed="|Isa|42|1|0|0" passage="Isa 42:1"><i>ch.</i>
xlii. 1</scripRef>); <i>it is Israel in whom I will be glorified by
thee;</i> 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p5" shownumber="no">III. He is assured of the good success of
his undertaking; for whom God calls he will prosper. And as to
this,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p6" shownumber="no">1. He objects the discouragement he had met
with at his first setting out (<scripRef id="Is.l-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.4" parsed="|Isa|49|4|0|0" passage="Isa 49:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>): "Then I said, with a sad heart,
<i>I have laboured in vain;</i> those that were ignorant, and
careless, and strangers to God, are so still: <i>I have called, and
they have refused;</i> I have <i>stretched out my hands to a
gainsaying people.</i>" This was Isaiah's complaint, but it was no
more than he was told to expect, <scripRef id="Is.l-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.6.9" parsed="|Isa|6|9|0|0" passage="Isa 6:9"><i>ch.</i> vi. 9</scripRef>. The same was a temptation to
Jeremiah to resolve he would labour no more, <scripRef id="Is.l-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.9" parsed="|Jer|20|9|0|0" passage="Jer 20:9">Jer. xx. 9</scripRef>. 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>I have laboured in vain,</i>
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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p7" shownumber="no">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: <i>Yet surely my judgment is with the Lord,</i> who is the
Judge of all, <i>and my work with my God,</i> 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, <scripRef id="Is.l-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Rom.3.3" parsed="|Rom|3|3|0|0" passage="Ro 3:3">Rom. iii. 3</scripRef>. (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.
"<i>He knows the way that I take; my judgment is with the Lord,</i>
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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p8" shownumber="no">3. He receives from God a further answer to
this objection, <scripRef id="Is.l-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.5-Isa.49.6" parsed="|Isa|49|5|49|6" passage="Isa 49:5,6"><i>v.</i> 5,
6</scripRef>. He knew very well that God had set him on work, had
<i>formed him from the womb to be his servant,</i> had not only
called him so early to it (<scripRef id="Is.l-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.1" parsed="|Isa|49|1|0|0" passage="Isa 49:1"><i>v.</i>
1</scripRef>), 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 <i>his servant, to bring
Jacob again to him,</i> 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, <i>to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel.</i> 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
<i>did not fail nor was discouraged.</i> An angel was sent from
heaven to <i>strengthen</i> him, <scripRef id="Is.l-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.22.43" parsed="|Luke|22|43|0|0" passage="Lu 22:43">Luke
xxii. 43</scripRef>. 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, <scripRef id="Is.l-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.6" parsed="|Isa|49|6|0|0" passage="Isa 49:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>. The Messiah seemed as if he had
been primarily designed to <i>bring Jacob back,</i> <scripRef id="Is.l-p8.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.5" parsed="|Isa|49|5|0|0" passage="Isa 49:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>. 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: "<i>It
is a light thing that thou shouldst be my servant, to raise up the
tribes of Jacob</i> to the dignity and dominion they expect by the
Messiah, and to <i>restore the preserved of Israel,</i> 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>I will give thee for a light to the
Gentiles</i> (many great and mighty nations by the gospel of Christ
shall be brought to the knowledge and worship of the true God),
<i>that thou mayest be my salvation,</i> the author of that
salvation which I have designed for lost man, and this <i>to the
end of the earth,</i> to nations at the greatest distance." Hence
Simeon learned to call Christ <i>a light to lighten the
Gentiles</i> (<scripRef id="Is.l-p8.6" osisRef="Bible:Luke.2.32" parsed="|Luke|2|32|0|0" passage="Lu 2:32">Luke ii. 32</scripRef>),
and St. Paul's exposition of this text is what we ought to abide
by, and it serves for a key to the context, <scripRef id="Is.l-p8.7" osisRef="Bible:Acts.13.47" parsed="|Acts|13|47|0|0" passage="Ac 13:47">Acts xiii. 47</scripRef>. <i>Therefore,</i> says he, we
turn to the Gentiles, to preach the gospel to them, <i>because so
has the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light to
the Gentiles.</i> 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.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Is.l-p8.8" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.7-Isa.49.12" parsed="|Isa|49|7|49|12" passage="Isa 49:7-12" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.l-p8.9">
<h4 id="Is.l-p8.10">Encouragement to the
Gentiles. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.l-p8.11">b. c.</span> 706.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.l-p9" shownumber="no">7 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.l-p9.1">Lord</span>, the Redeemer of Israel, <i>and</i> 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 <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.l-p9.2">Lord</span> that is faithful, <i>and</i> the Holy One
of Israel, and he shall choose thee.   8 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.l-p9.3">Lord</span>, 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 <i>are</i> in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in
the ways, and their pastures <i>shall be</i> 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p10" shownumber="no">In these verses we have,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p11" shownumber="no">I. The humiliation and exaltation of the
Messiah (<scripRef id="Is.l-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.7" parsed="|Isa|49|7|0|0" passage="Isa 49:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>):
<i>The Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and Israel's Holy One,</i> 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 <i>whom man despised.</i>
He is <i>despised and rejected of men,</i> <scripRef id="Is.l-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.53.3" parsed="|Isa|53|3|0|0" passage="Isa 53:3"><i>ch.</i> liii. 3</scripRef>. 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 <i>one whom the nation
abhorred;</i> they treated him as the worst of men, and cried out,
<i>Crucify him, crucify him.</i> The nation did it, the Gentiles as
well as Jews, and the Jews herein worse than Gentiles; for his
cross was <i>to the one a stumbling-block</i> and <i>to the other
foolishness.</i> He was <i>a servant of rulers;</i> he was trampled
upon, abused, scourged, and crucified as a slave. Pilate boasted of
his power over him, <scripRef id="Is.l-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:John.19.10" parsed="|John|19|10|0|0" passage="Joh 19:10">John xix.
10</scripRef>. 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 is John the Baptist;</i> 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 <i>therefore</i> it
shall be done, <i>because of the Lord who is faithful</i> 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p12" shownumber="no">II. The blessings he has in store for all
those to whom he is made salvation.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p13" shownumber="no">1. God will own and stand by him in his
undertaking (<scripRef id="Is.l-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.8" parsed="|Isa|49|8|0|0" passage="Isa 49:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>):
<i>In an acceptable time have I heard thee,</i> that is, I will
hear thee. Christ, <i>in the days of his flesh, offered up strong
cries, and was heard,</i> <scripRef id="Is.l-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Heb.5.7" parsed="|Heb|5|7|0|0" passage="Heb 5:7">Heb. v.
7</scripRef>. He knew that the <i>Father heard him always</i>
(<scripRef id="Is.l-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:John.11.42" parsed="|John|11|42|0|0" passage="Joh 11:42">John xi. 42</scripRef>), 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.
<i>Father, I will,</i> <scripRef id="Is.l-p13.4" osisRef="Bible:John.17.24" parsed="|John|17|24|0|0" passage="Joh 17:24">John xvii.
24</scripRef>. 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, <scripRef id="Is.l-p13.5" osisRef="Bible:Heb.7.25" parsed="|Heb|7|25|0|0" passage="Heb 7:25">Heb. vii. 25</scripRef>. 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 <i>one stone were seven eyes,</i>
<scripRef id="Is.l-p13.6" osisRef="Bible:Zech.3.9" parsed="|Zech|3|9|0|0" passage="Zec 3:9">Zech. iii. 9</scripRef>. God would
preserve him, would preserve his interest, his kingdom among men,
though fought against on all sides. Christ is preserved while
Christianity is.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p14" shownumber="no">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: <i>Behold, now is
the day of salvation,</i> now the word of reconciliation by Christ
is preached, <scripRef id="Is.l-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.6.2" parsed="|2Cor|6|2|0|0" passage="2Co 6:2">2 Cor. vi.
2</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p15" shownumber="no">(1.) He shall be guarantee of the treaty of
peace between God and man: I will <i>give thee for a covenant of
the people.</i> This we had before (<scripRef id="Is.l-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.42.6" parsed="|Isa|42|6|0|0" passage="Isa 42:6"><i>ch.</i> xlii. 6</scripRef>), 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 <i>reconciling the
world to himself;</i> and he that <i>spared not his own Son</i>
will deny us nothing. He is given for a covenant, not only as he is
the Mediator of the covenant, the blessed <i>days-man who has laid
his hand upon us both,</i> 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p16" shownumber="no">(2.) He shall repair the decays of the
church and build it upon a rock. He shall <i>establish the
earth,</i> or rather the <i>land,</i> the land of Judea, a type of
the church. He shall <i>cause the desolate heritages to be
inherited;</i> 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p17" shownumber="no">(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 <i>say to the
prisoners</i> that were bound over to the justice of God, and bound
under the power of Satan, <i>Go forth,</i> <scripRef id="Is.l-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.9" parsed="|Isa|49|9|0|0" passage="Isa 49:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>. 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, <i>Go forth;</i> it is the Son
that makes us free, and then we are free indeed. He saith <i>to
those that are in darkness, Show yourselves;</i> "not only
<i>see,</i> but <i>be seen,</i> to the glory of God and your own
comfort." When he discharged the lepers from their confinement, he
said, <i>Go show yourselves to the priest.</i> When we see the
light, let our light shine.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p18" shownumber="no">(4.) He shall provide for the comfortable
passage of those whom he sets at liberty to the place of their rest
and happy settlement, <scripRef id="Is.l-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.9-Isa.49.11" parsed="|Isa|49|9|49|11" passage="Isa 49:9-11"><i>v.</i>
9-11</scripRef>. 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: <i>They shall feed in the
ways,</i> as sheep; for now, as formerly, God <i>leads Joseph like
a flock.</i> 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 <i>in all high places,</i>
which are commonly dry and barren. Wherever God brings his people
he will take care they shall want nothing that is good for them,
<scripRef id="Is.l-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.34.10" parsed="|Ps|34|10|0|0" passage="Ps 34:10">Ps. xxxiv. 10</scripRef>. 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: <i>Neither
shall the heat nor sun smite them,</i> or God causes <i>his flock
to rest at noon,</i> <scripRef id="Is.l-p18.3" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.7" parsed="|Song|1|7|0|0" passage="So 1:7">Cant. i.
7</scripRef>. No evil thing shall befal those that put themselves
under a divine protection; they shall be enabled to <i>bear the
burden and heat of the day.</i> [3.] They shall be under God's
gracious guidance: <i>He that has mercy on them,</i> in bringing
them out of their captivity, <i>shall lead them,</i> as he did
their fathers in the wilderness, by a pillar of cloud and fire.
<i>Even by springs of water,</i> which will be ready to them in
their march, <i>shall he guide them.</i> 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 (<scripRef id="Is.l-p18.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.11" parsed="|Isa|49|11|0|0" passage="Isa 49:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>): <i>I will make all my
mountains a way.</i> 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 (<scripRef id="Is.l-p18.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.2-Isa.40.3" parsed="|Isa|40|2|40|3" passage="Isa 40:2,3"><i>ch.</i> xl. 2, 3</scripRef>), 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, <scripRef id="Is.l-p18.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.35.8" parsed="|Isa|35|8|0|0" passage="Isa 35:8"><i>ch.</i>
xxxv. 8</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p19" shownumber="no">(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, <scripRef id="Is.l-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.12" parsed="|Isa|49|12|0|0" passage="Isa 49:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>. Here shall a party <i>come
from far,</i> some <i>from the north,</i> some <i>from the
west,</i> some <i>from the land of Sinim,</i> 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 <i>Sin,</i> of which we read, <scripRef id="Is.l-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.30.15-Ezek.30.16" parsed="|Ezek|30|15|30|16" passage="Eze 30:15,16">Ezek. xxx. 15, 16</scripRef>. 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, <scripRef id="Is.l-p19.3" osisRef="Bible:Matt.8.11" parsed="|Matt|8|11|0|0" passage="Mt 8:11">Matt. viii. 11</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Is.l-p19.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.13-Isa.49.17" parsed="|Isa|49|13|49|17" passage="Isa 49:13-17" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.l-p19.5">
<h4 id="Is.l-p19.6">Encouragement to Zion. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.l-p19.7">b. c.</span> 706.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.l-p20" shownumber="no">13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and
break forth into singing, O mountains: for the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.l-p20.1">Lord</span> hath comforted his people, and will have
mercy upon his afflicted.   14 But Zion said, The <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.l-p20.2">Lord</span> 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 <i>my</i> hands; thy walls <i>are</i>
continually before me.   17 Thy children shall make haste; thy
destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of
thee.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p21" shownumber="no">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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p22" shownumber="no">I. Nothing can furnish us with better
matter for songs of praise and thanksgiving, <scripRef id="Is.l-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.13" parsed="|Isa|49|13|0|0" passage="Isa 49:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>. 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, <scripRef id="Is.l-p22.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.96.11" parsed="|Ps|96|11|0|0" passage="Ps 96:11">Ps. xcvi. 11</scripRef>. 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, <i>be joyful,</i> and <i>break forth into
singing, for the earnest expectation of the creature</i> that
<i>waits for the glorious liberty of the children of God</i>
(<scripRef id="Is.l-p22.3" osisRef="Bible:Rom.8.19 Bible:Rom.8.21" parsed="|Rom|8|19|0|0;|Rom|8|21|0|0" passage="Ro 8:19,21">Rom. viii. 19, 21</scripRef>) shall
now be <i>abundantly answered.</i> God's people are the blessings
and ornaments of the world, and therefore let there be universal
joy, for <i>God has comforted his people</i> that were in sorrow
and <i>he will have mercy upon the afflicted</i> because of his
compassion, upon <i>his</i> afflicted because of his covenant.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p23" shownumber="no">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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p24" shownumber="no">1. The troubles of the church have given
some occasion to question God's care and concern for it, <scripRef id="Is.l-p24.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.14" parsed="|Isa|49|14|0|0" passage="Isa 49:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. <i>Zion,</i> in
distress, <i>said, The Lord has forsaken me,</i> and looks after me
no more; <i>my Lord has forgotten me,</i> and <i>will</i> 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 <i>God has
forsaken the earth</i> (<scripRef id="Is.l-p24.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.8.12" parsed="|Ezek|8|12|0|0" passage="Eze 8:12">Ezek. viii.
12</scripRef>), and has <i>forgotten their sins,</i> <scripRef id="Is.l-p24.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.10.11" parsed="|Ps|10|11|0|0" passage="Ps 10:11">Ps. x. 11</scripRef>. 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p25" shownumber="no">2. The triumphs of the church, after her
troubles, will in due time put the matter out of question.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p26" shownumber="no">(1.) What God will do for Zion we are told,
<scripRef id="Is.l-p26.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.17" parsed="|Isa|49|17|0|0" passage="Isa 49:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>. [1.] Her
friends, who had deserted her, shall be gathered to her, and shall
contribute their utmost to her assistance and comfort: <i>Thy
children shall make haste.</i> 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. "<i>Thy builders shall make
haste</i>" (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: <i>Thy
destroyers, and those who made thee waste,</i> who had made
themselves masters of the country and ravaged it, <i>shall go forth
of thee.</i> By Christ the prince of this world, the great
destroyer, is cast out, is dispossessed, has his power broken and
his attempts quite baffled.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p27" shownumber="no">(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, <scripRef id="Is.l-p27.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.15" parsed="|Isa|49|15|0|0" passage="Isa 49:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>. 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, <i>The Lord has forsaken
me,</i> 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. <i>Can a woman forget her sucking child?" First,</i>
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, <i>Secondly,</i> 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 <i>compassion on the son of her
womb,</i> as those who, to conceal their shame, are the death of
their children as soon as they are their life, <scripRef id="Is.l-p27.2" osisRef="Bible:Lam.4.10 Bible:Deut.28.57" parsed="|Lam|4|10|0|0;|Deut|28|57|0|0" passage="La 4:10,De 28:57">Lam. iv. 10; Deut. xxviii. 57</scripRef>. But,
says God, <i>I will not forget thee.</i> 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 (<scripRef id="Is.l-p27.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.16" parsed="|Isa|49|16|0|0" passage="Isa 49:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>):
<i>I have engraven thee upon the palms of my hands.</i> 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, <scripRef id="Is.l-p27.4" osisRef="Bible:Song.8.6" parsed="|Song|8|6|0|0" passage="So 8:6">Cant. viii.
6</scripRef>. If we <i>bind God's law as a sign upon our hand</i>
(<scripRef id="Is.l-p27.5" osisRef="Bible:Deut.6.8 Bible:Deut.6.11 Bible:Deut.6.18" parsed="|Deut|6|8|0|0;|Deut|6|11|0|0;|Deut|6|18|0|0" passage="De 6:8,11,18">Deut. vi. 8, 11, 18</scripRef>),
he will engrave our interests as a sign on his hand, and will look
upon that and remember the covenant. He adds, "<i>Thy walls shall
be continually before me;</i> thy ruined walls, though no pleasing
spectacle, shall be in my thoughts of compassion." Do Zions'
friends <i>favour her dust?</i> <scripRef id="Is.l-p27.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.102.14" parsed="|Ps|102|14|0|0" passage="Ps 102:14">Ps.
cii. 14</scripRef>. 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.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Is.l-p27.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.18-Isa.49.23" parsed="|Isa|49|18|49|23" passage="Isa 49:18-23" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.l-p27.8">
<h4 id="Is.l-p27.9">Encouragement to Zion. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.l-p27.10">b. c.</span> 706.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.l-p28" shownumber="no">18 Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold:
all these gather themselves together, <i>and</i> come to thee.
<i>As</i> I live, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.l-p28.1">Lord</span>,
thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament,
and bind them <i>on thee,</i> as a bride <i>doeth.</i>   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 <i>is</i> 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 <i>had</i> they <i>been?</i>   22 Thus saith the
Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.l-p28.2">God</span>, 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 <i>their</i> arms, and thy
daughters shall be carried upon <i>their</i> shoulders.   23
And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy
nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with <i>their</i> face
toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt
know that I <i>am</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.l-p28.3">Lord</span>: for
they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p29" shownumber="no">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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p30" shownumber="no">I. That the church shall be replenished
with great numbers added to it. It was promised (<scripRef id="Is.l-p30.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.17" parsed="|Isa|49|17|0|0" passage="Isa 49:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>) that <i>her children should
make haste;</i> that promise is here enlarged upon, and is made
very encouraging. It is promised,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p31" shownumber="no">1. That multitudes shall flock to the
church from all parts. <i>Look round, and see how they gather
themselves to thee</i> (<scripRef id="Is.l-p31.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.18" parsed="|Isa|49|18|0|0" passage="Isa 49:18"><i>v.</i>
18</scripRef>), 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 <i>come to Jesus as the Mediator of the new
covenant</i> do thereby <i>come to the Mount Zion,</i> the
<i>church of the first-born,</i> <scripRef id="Is.l-p31.2" osisRef="Bible:Heb.12.22-Heb.12.23" parsed="|Heb|12|22|12|23" passage="Heb 12:22,23">Heb. xii. 22, 23</scripRef>. <i>Lift up thy eyes,
and behold</i> how <i>the fields are white unto the harvest,</i>
<scripRef id="Is.l-p31.3" osisRef="Bible:John.4.35" parsed="|John|4|35|0|0" passage="Joh 4:35">John iv. 35</scripRef>. Note, It is
matter of joy to the church to see a multitude of converts to
Christ.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p32" shownumber="no">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: <i>As
I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thyself with them
all.</i> 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, <scripRef id="Is.l-p32.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.19.7" parsed="|Rev|19|7|0|0" passage="Re 19:7">Rev.
xix. 7</scripRef>. 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p33" shownumber="no">3. That thus the country which was waste
and desolate, and <i>without inhabitant</i> (<scripRef id="Is.l-p33.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.5.9 Bible:Isa.6.11" parsed="|Isa|5|9|0|0;|Isa|6|11|0|0" passage="Isa 5:9,6:11"><i>ch.</i> v. 9; vi. 11</scripRef>), shall be again
peopled, nay, it shall be over-peopled (<scripRef id="Is.l-p33.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.19" parsed="|Isa|49|19|0|0" passage="Isa 49:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>): "<i>Thy waste and thy
desolate places,</i> that have long lain so, <i>and the land of thy
destruction,</i> 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 <i>room enough to receive
it,</i> <scripRef id="Is.l-p33.3" osisRef="Bible:Mal.3.10" parsed="|Mal|3|10|0|0" passage="Mal 3:10">Mal. iii. 10</scripRef>. 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, <i>those that swallow thee up,</i> and took possession
of thy land when thy possession of it was discontinued, <i>shall be
far away.</i> Thy people shall be numerous, and there shall be no
stranger, no enemy, among them." Thus the <i>kingdom of God among
men,</i> 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p34" shownumber="no">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 <i>shall have
after she has lost the other</i> (<scripRef id="Is.l-p34.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.20" parsed="|Isa|49|20|0|0" passage="Isa 49:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>), as Seth, who was <i>appointed
another seed instead of Abel,</i> 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 <i>Jerusalem shall be full of boys and
girls playing in the streets,</i> <scripRef id="Is.l-p34.2" osisRef="Bible:Zech.8.5" parsed="|Zech|8|5|0|0" passage="Zec 8:5">Zech.
viii. 5</scripRef>. 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 <scripRef id="Is.l-p34.3" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.27" parsed="|Gal|4|27|0|0" passage="Ga 4:27">Gal. iv. 27</scripRef>. 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 <i>the place is too strait for us;</i>" as
the sons of the prophets complained, <scripRef id="Is.l-p34.4" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.6.1" parsed="|2Kgs|6|1|0|0" passage="2Ki 6:1">2
Kings vi. 1</scripRef>. 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 <i>poor and the maimed, the halt and the blind,</i>
are brought in, <i>yet still there is room,</i> room enough for
those that are in and room for more, <scripRef id="Is.l-p34.5" osisRef="Bible:Luke.14.21-Luke.14.22" parsed="|Luke|14|21|14|22" passage="Lu 14:21,22">Luke xiv. 21, 22</scripRef>. (2.) The mother shall
stand amazed at the increase of her family, <scripRef id="Is.l-p34.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.21" parsed="|Isa|49|21|0|0" passage="Isa 49:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>. She shall say, <i>Who has
begotten me these?</i> and, <i>Who has brought up these?</i> 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 (<i>this is Zion whom no man seeks after</i>),
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, <scripRef id="Is.l-p34.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.66.8" parsed="|Isa|66|8|0|0" passage="Isa 66:8"><i>ch.</i> lxvi. 8</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p35" shownumber="no">5. That this shall be done with the help of
the Gentiles, <scripRef id="Is.l-p35.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.22" parsed="|Isa|49|22|0|0" passage="Isa 49:22"><i>v.</i>
22</scripRef>. The Jews were cast off, among whom it was expected
that the church should be built up; but God will <i>sow it to
himself in the earth,</i> and will thence reap a plentiful crop,
<scripRef id="Is.l-p35.2" osisRef="Bible:Hos.2.23" parsed="|Hos|2|23|0|0" passage="Ho 2:23">Hos. ii. 23</scripRef>. Observe, (1.)
How the Gentiles shall be called in. God will <i>lift up his hand
to them,</i> to invite or beckon them, having all the day stretched
it out in vain to the Jews, <scripRef id="Is.l-p35.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.65.2" parsed="|Isa|65|2|0|0" passage="Isa 65:2"><i>ch.</i>
lxv. 2</scripRef>. 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 <i>set up his standard to them,</i> the
preaching of the everlasting gospel, to which they shall gather,
and under which they shall enlist themselves. (2.) How they shall
come: <i>They shall bring thy sons in their arms.</i> 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. <i>The earth helped the woman,</i> <scripRef id="Is.l-p35.4" osisRef="Bible:Rev.12.16" parsed="|Rev|12|16|0|0" passage="Re 12:16">Rev. xii. 16</scripRef>. Or, "When they come
themselves, they shall bring their children, and make them thy
children;" compare <scripRef id="Is.l-p35.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.60.4" parsed="|Isa|60|4|0|0" passage="Isa 60:4"><i>ch.</i> lx.
4</scripRef>. "Dost thou ask, <i>Who has begotten and brought up
these?</i> 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 <i>gathers with his
arms and carries in his bosom.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p36" shownumber="no">II. That the church shall have a great and
prevailing interest in the nations, <scripRef id="Is.l-p36.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.22-Isa.49.23" parsed="|Isa|49|22|49|23" passage="Isa 49:22,23"><i>v.</i> 22, 23</scripRef>. 1. Some of the princes
of the nations shall become patrons and protectors to the church:
<i>Kings shall be thy nursing fathers,</i> to carry thy sons in
their arms (as Moses, <scripRef id="Is.l-p36.2" osisRef="Bible:Num.11.12" parsed="|Num|11|12|0|0" passage="Nu 11:12">Num. xi.
12</scripRef>); and, because women are the most proper nurses,
<i>their queens shall be thy nursing mothers.</i> 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: <i>They shall bow down to
thee and lick the dust.</i> The promise to the church of
Philadelphia seems to be borrowed from this (<scripRef id="Is.l-p36.3" osisRef="Bible:Rev.3.9" parsed="|Rev|3|9|0|0" passage="Re 3:9">Rev. iii. 9</scripRef>): <i>I will make those of the
synagogue of Satan to come and worship before thy feet.</i> 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 (<scripRef id="Is.l-p36.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.72.11" parsed="|Ps|72|11|0|0" passage="Ps 72:11">Ps. lxxii. 11</scripRef>):
<i>All kings shall fall down before him.</i> 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 <i>it shall speak and shall not lie.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Is.l-p36.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.24-Isa.49.26" parsed="|Isa|49|24|49|26" passage="Isa 49:24-26" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.l-p36.6">
<h4 id="Is.l-p36.7">Encouragement to Zion. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.l-p36.8">b. c.</span> 706.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.l-p37" shownumber="no">24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or
the lawful captive delivered?   25 But thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.l-p37.1">Lord</span>, 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 <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.l-p37.2">Lord</span> <i>am</i> thy Saviour and
thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p38" shownumber="no">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 (<scripRef id="Is.l-p38.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.24" parsed="|Isa|49|24|0|0" passage="Isa 49:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>) 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 <i>taken from
the mighty?</i> 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p39" shownumber="no">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 <i>non-obstante—notwithstanding</i>
to the strength of the enemy (<scripRef id="Is.l-p39.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.25" parsed="|Isa|49|25|0|0" passage="Isa 49:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>): "<i>Even the captives of the
mighty,</i> though they are mighty, shall be taken away, and it is
to no purpose for them to oppose it; <i>and the prey of the
terrible,</i> 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." <i>The Lord saith thus,</i> 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>I
will contend with him that contends with thee,</i> 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>I will save thy
children.</i>" The captives shall be delivered by <i>leading
captivity captive,</i> that is, sending those into captivity that
had held God's people captive, <scripRef id="Is.l-p39.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.13.10" parsed="|Rev|13|10|0|0" passage="Re 13:10">Rev.
xiii. 10</scripRef>. Nay, they shall have blood for blood
(<scripRef id="Is.l-p39.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.26" parsed="|Isa|49|26|0|0" passage="Isa 49:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>): "<i>I will
feed those that oppress thee with their own flesh,</i> and <i>they
shall be drunken with their own blood.</i> 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 <i>bite and devour one
another,</i> till they are <i>consumed one of another.</i> 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 <i>blood given her to drink, for she is worthy.</i> 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 <i>Aceldama,</i> nay, a desolation.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.l-p40" shownumber="no">III. See what will be the effect of
Babylon's ruin: <i>All flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy
Saviour.</i> 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.</p>
</div></div2>