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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>I S A I A H.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. LXI.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In this chapter,
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I. We are sure to find the grace of Christ, published by himself to a
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lost world in the everlasting gospel, under the type and figure of
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Isaiah's province, which was to foretel the deliverance of the Jews out
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of Babylon,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:1-3">ver. 1-3</A>.
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II. We think we find the glories of the church of Christ, its
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spiritual glories, described under the type and figure of the Jews'
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prosperity after their return out of their captivity.
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1. It is promised that they decays of the church shall be repaired,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:4">ver. 4</A>.
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2. That those from without shall be made serviceable to the church,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:5">ver. 5</A>.
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3. That the church shall be a royal priesthood, maintained by the
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riches of the Gentiles,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:6">ver. 6</A>.
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4. That she shall have honour and joy in lieu of all her shame and
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sorrow,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:7">ver. 7</A>.
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5. That her affairs shall prosper,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:8">ver. 8</A>.
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6. That prosperity shall enjoy these blessings,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:9">ver. 9</A>.
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7. That righteousness and salvation shall be the eternal matter of the
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church's rejoicing and thanksgiving,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:10,11">ver. 10, 11</A>.
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If the Jewish church was ever thus blessed, much more shall the
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Christian church be so, and all that belong to it.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Isa61_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa61_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa61_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Office of the Messiah.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 706.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 The Spirit of the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> upon me; because the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
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hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath
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sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the
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captives, and the opening of the prison to <I>them that are</I> bound;
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2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and the day of
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vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
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3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them
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beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of
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praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called
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trees of righteousness, the planting of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, that he might
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be glorified.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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He that is the best expositor of scripture has no doubt given us the
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best exposition of these verses, even our Lord Jesus himself, who read
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this in the synagogue at Nazareth (perhaps it was the lesson for the
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day) and applied it entirely to himself, saying, <I>This day is this
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scripture fulfilled in your ears</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+4:17,18,21">Luke iv. 17, 18, 21</A>);
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and the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth, in the opening
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of this text, were admired by all that heard them. As Isaiah was
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authorized and directed to proclaim liberty to the Jews in Babylon, so
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was Christ, God's messenger, to publish a more joyful jubilee to a lost
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world. And here we are told,</P>
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<P>
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I. How he was fitted and qualified for this work: <I>The Spirit of the
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Lord God is upon me,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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The prophets had the Spirit of God moving them at times, both
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instructing them what to say and exciting them to say it. Christ had
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the Spirit always resting on him without measure; but to the same
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intent that the prophets had, as a Spirit of counsel and a Spirit of
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courage,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:1-3"><I>ch.</I> xi. 1-3</A>.
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When he entered upon the execution of his prophetical office the
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Spirit, as a dove, <I>descended upon him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+3:16">Matt. iii. 16</A>.
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This Spirit which was upon him he communicated to those whom he sent to
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proclaim the same glad tidings, saying to them, when he gave them their
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commission, <I>Receive you the Holy Ghost,</I> thereby ratifying
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it.</P>
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<P>
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II. How he was appointed and ordained to it: <I>The Spirit of God is
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upon me, because the Lord God has anointed me.</I> What service God
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called him to he furnished him for; <I>therefore</I> he gave him his
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Spirit, because he had by a sacred and solemn unction set him apart to
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this great office, as kings and priests were of old destined to their
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offices by anointing. Hence the Redeemer was called the <I>Messiah,</I>
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the <I>Christ,</I> because he was <I>anointed with the oil of gladness
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above his fellows. He has sent me;</I> our Lord Jesus did not go
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unsent; he had a commission from him that is the fountain of power;
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<I>the Father sent him</I> and <I>gave him commandment.</I> This is a
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great satisfaction to us, that, whatever Christ said, he had a warrant
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from heaven for; his doctrine was not his, but his that sent him.</P>
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<P>
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III. What the work was to which he was appointed and ordained.</P>
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<P>
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1. He was to be a preacher, was to execute the office of a prophet. So
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well pleased was he with the good-will God showed towards men through
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him that he would himself be the preacher of it, that an honour might
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thereby be put upon the ministry of the gospel and the faith of the
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saints might be confirmed and encouraged. He must preach <I>good
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tidings</I> (so <I>gospel</I> signified) <I>to the meek,</I> to the
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penitent, and humble, and poor in spirit; to them the tidings of a
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Redeemer will be indeed good tidings, pure gospel, <I>faithful sayings,
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and worthy of all acceptation.</I> The poor are commonly best disposed
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to receive the gospel
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:5">Jam. ii. 5</A>),
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and it is likely to profit us when it is received with meekness, as it
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ought to be; to such Christ preached good tidings when he said,
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<I>Blessed are the meek.</I></P>
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<P>
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2. He was to be a healer. He was sent to <I>bind up the
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broken-hearted,</I> as pained limbs are rolled to give them ease, as
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broken bones and bleeding wounds are bound up, that they may knit and
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close again. Those whose hearts are broken for sin, who are truly
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humbled under the sense of guilt and dread of wrath, are furnished in
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the gospel of Christ with that which will make them easy and silence
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their fears. Those only who have experienced the pains of a penitential
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contrition may expect the pleasure of divine cordials and
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consolations.</P>
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<P>
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3. He was to be a deliverer. He was sent as a prophet to preach, as a
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priest to heal, and as a king to issue out proclamations and those of
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two kinds:--
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(1.) Proclamations of peace to his friends: He shall <I>proclaim
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liberty to the captives</I> (as Cyrus did to the Jews in captivity) and
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the <I>opening of the prison to those that were bound.</I> Whereas, by
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the guilt of sin, we are bound over to the justice of God, are his
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lawful captives, sold for sin till payment be made of that great debt,
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Christ lets us know that he has made satisfaction to divine justice for
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that debt, that his satisfaction is accepted, and if we will plead
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that, and depend upon it, and make over ourselves and all we have to
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him, in a grateful sense of the kindness he has done us, we may be
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faith sue out our pardon and take the comfort of it; there is, and
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shall be, <I>no condemnation to us.</I> And whereas, by the dominion of
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sin in us, we are bound under the power of Satan, sold under sin,
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Christ lets us know that he has conquered Satan, has <I>destroyed him
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that had the power of death and his works,</I> and provided for us
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grace sufficient to enable us to shake off the yoke of sin and to loose
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ourselves from <I>those bands of our neck. The Son</I> is ready by his
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Spirit to <I>make us free;</I> and then we shall be <I>free indeed,</I>
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not only discharged from the miseries of captivity, but advanced to all
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the immunities and dignities of citizens. This is the gospel
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proclamation, and it is like the blowing of the jubilee-trumpet, which
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proclaimed the great year of release
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:9,40">Lev. xxv. 9, 40</A>),
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in allusion to which it is here called <I>the acceptable year of the
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Lord,</I> the time of our acceptance with God, which is the origin of
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our liberties; or it is called the <I>year of the Lord</I> because it
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publishes his free grace, to his own glory, and an <I>acceptable
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year</I> because it brings glad tidings to us, and what cannot but be
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very acceptable to those who know the capacities and necessities of
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their own souls.
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(2.) Proclamations of war against his enemies. Christ proclaims <I>the
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day of vengeance of our God,</I> the vengeance he takes,
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[1.] On sin and Satan, death and hell, and all the powers of darkness,
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that were to be destroyed in order to our deliverances; these Christ
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triumphed over in his cross, having spoiled and weakened them, shamed
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them, and <I>made a show of them openly,</I> therein taking vengeance
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on them for all the injury they had done both to God and man,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Col+2:15">Col. ii. 15</A>.
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[2.] On those of the children of men that stand it out against those
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fair offers. They shall not only be left, as they deserve, in their
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captivity, but be dealt with as enemies; we have the gospel summed up,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+16:16">Mark xvi. 16</A>,
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where that part of it, <I>He that believes shall be saved,</I>
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proclaims <I>the acceptable year of the Lord</I> to those that will
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accept of it; but the other part, <I>He that believes not shall be
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damned,</I> proclaims <I>the day of vengeance of our God,</I> that
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vengeance which he will take on those that <I>obey not the gospel of
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Jesus Christ,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Th+1:8">2 Thess. i. 8</A>.</P>
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<P>
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4. He was to be a comforter, and so he is as preacher, healer, and
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deliverer; he is sent to <I>comfort all who mourn,</I> and who,
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mourning, seek to him, and not to the world, for comfort. Christ not
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only provides comfort for them, and proclaims it, but he applies it to
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them; he does by his Spirit comfort them. There is enough in him to
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<I>comfort all who mourn,</I> whatever their sore or sorrow is; but
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this comfort is sure to those who <I>mourn in Zion,</I> who sorrow
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<I>after a godly sort,</I> according to God, for his residence is in
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Zion,--who <I>mourn because of Zion's</I> calamities and desolations,
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and mingle their tears by a holy sympathy with those of all God's
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suffering people, though they themselves are not in trouble; such tears
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God has <I>a bottle</I> for
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:8">Ps. lvi. 8</A>),
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such mourners he has comfort in store for. As <I>blessings out of
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Zion</I> are spiritual blessings, so <I>mourners in Zion</I> are holy
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mourners, such as carry their sorrows to the throne of grace (for in
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Zion was the mercy-seat) and pour them out as Hannah did before the
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Lord. To such as these Christ has appointed by his gospel, and will
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give by his Spirit
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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those consolations which will not only support them under their
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sorrows, but turn them into songs of praise. He will give them,
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(1.) <I>Beauty for ashes.</I> Whereas they lay in ashes, as was usual
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in times of great mourning, they shall not only be raised out of their
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dust, but made to look pleasant. Note, The holy cheerfulness of
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Christians is their beauty and a great ornament to their profession.
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Here is an elegant <I>paronomasia</I> in the original: He will give
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them <I>pheer--beauty,</I> for <I>epher--ashes;</I> he will turn their
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sorrow into joy as quickly and as easily as you can transpose a letter;
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for he speaks, and it is done.
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(2.) <I>The oil of joy,</I> which <I>make the face to shine,</I>
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instead of <I>mourning,</I> which <I>disfigures the countenance</I> and
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makes it unlovely. this <I>oil of joy</I> the saints have from that
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<I>oil of gladness</I> with which Christ himself was <I>anointed above
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his fellows,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+1:9">Heb. i. 9</A>.
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(3.) <I>The garments of praise,</I> such beautiful garments as were
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worn on thanksgiving-days, instead of the <I>spirit of heaviness,
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dimness,</I> or <I>contraction</I>--open joys for secret mournings. The
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<I>spirit of heaviness</I> they keep to themselves (Zion's mourners
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<I>weep in secret</I>); but the joy they are recompensed with they are
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clothed with as with a garment in the eye of others. Observe, Where God
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gives the oil of joy he gives the garment of praise. Those comforts
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which come from God dispose the heart to, and enlarge the heart in,
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thanksgivings to God. Whatever we have the joy of God must have the
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praise and glory of.</P>
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<P>
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5. He was to be a planter; for the church is God's husbandry.
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<I>Therefore</I> he will do all this for his people, will cure their
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wounds, release them out of bondage, and comfort them in their sorrows,
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<I>that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the
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Lord,</I> that they may be such and be acknowledged to be such, that
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they may be ornaments to God's vineyard and may be <I>fruitful in the
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fruits of righteousness,</I> as the branches of <I>God's planting,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+60:21"><I>ch.</I> lx. 21</A>.
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All that Christ does for us is to make us God's people, and some way
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serviceable to him as living trees, <I>planted in the house of the
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Lord,</I> and <I>flourishing in the courts of our God;</I> and all this
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<I>that he may be glorified</I>--that we may be brought to glorify him
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by a sincere devotion and an exemplary conversation (for <I>herein is
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our Father glorified, that we bring broth much fruit</I>), that others
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also may take occasion from God's favour shining on his people, and his
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grace shining in them, to praise him, and that he may be for ever
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<I>glorified in his saints.</I></P>
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<A NAME="Isa61_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa61_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa61_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa61_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa61_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa61_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Office of the Messiah; The Prosperity of the Church.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 706.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the
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former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the
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desolations of many generations.
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5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons
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of the alien <I>shall be</I> your ploughmen and your vinedressers.
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6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: <I>men</I> shall
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call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the
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Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.
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7 For your shame <I>ye shall have</I> double; and <I>for</I> confusion
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they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they
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shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.
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8 For I the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt
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offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make
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an everlasting covenant with them.
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9 And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their
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offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge
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them, that they <I>are</I> the seed <I>which</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath blessed.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Promises are here made to the Jews now returned out of captivity, and
|
|
settled again in their own land, which are to be extended to the gospel
|
|
church, and all believers, who through grace are delivered out of
|
|
spiritual thraldom; for they are capable of being spiritually
|
|
applied.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. It is promised that their houses shall be rebuilt
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
|
|
|
|
that their cities shall be raised out of the ruins in which they had
|
|
long lain, and be fitted up for their use again: <I>They shall build
|
|
the old wastes;</I> the <I>old wastes</I> shall be built, the <I>waste
|
|
cities shall be repaired,</I> the <I>former desolations,</I> even
|
|
<I>the desolations of many generations,</I> which it was feared would
|
|
never be repaired, shall be <I>raised up.</I> The setting up of
|
|
Christianity in the world repaired the decays of natural religion and
|
|
raised up those desolations both of piety and honesty which had been
|
|
for many generations the reproach of mankind. An unsanctified soul is
|
|
like a city that is broken down and has no walls, like a house in
|
|
ruins; but by the power of Christ's gospel and grace it is repaired, it
|
|
is put in order again, and fitted to be a habitation of God through the
|
|
Spirit. And <I>they</I> shall do this, those that are released out of
|
|
captivity; for we are brought out of the house of bondage that we may
|
|
serve God, both in building up ourselves to his glory and in helping to
|
|
build up his church on earth.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Those that were so lately servants themselves, working for their
|
|
oppressors and lying at their mercy, shall now have servants to do
|
|
their work for them and be at their command, not of their brethren
|
|
(they are all the Lord's freemen), but of <I>the strangers, and the
|
|
sons of the alien,</I> who shall <I>keep their sheep, till their
|
|
ground,</I> and <I>dress their gardens,</I> the ancient employments of
|
|
Abel, Cain, and Adam: <I>Strangers shall feed your flocks,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
When, by the grace of God, we attain to a holy indifference as to all
|
|
the affairs of this world, <I>buying as though we possessed
|
|
not</I>--when, though our hands are employed about them, our hearts are
|
|
not entangled with them, but reserved entire for God and his
|
|
service--then <I>the sons of the alien are our ploughmen and
|
|
vine-dressers.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. They shall not only be released out of their captivity, but highly
|
|
preferred and honourably employed
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
|
|
|
|
"While the strangers are <I>keeping your flocks,</I> you shall be
|
|
keeping <I>the charge of the sanctuary;</I> instead of being slaves to
|
|
your task-masters, <I>you shall be named the priests of the Lord,</I> a
|
|
high and holy calling." Priests were princes' peers, and in Hebrew were
|
|
called by the same name. You <I>shall be the ministers of our God,</I>
|
|
as the Levites were. Note, Those whom God sets at liberty he sets to
|
|
work; he <I>delivers them out of the hands of their enemies</I> that
|
|
they may <I>serve him,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+1:74,75,Ps+116:16">Luke i. 74, 75; Ps. cxvi. 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
But his service is perfect freedom, nay, it is the greatest honour.
|
|
When God brought Israel out of Egypt he took them to be to him a
|
|
<I>kingdom of priests,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+19:6">Exod. xix. 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
And the gospel church is a <I>royal priesthood,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+2:9">1 Pet. ii. 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
All believers are made to our God kings and priests; and they ought to
|
|
conduct themselves as such in their devotions and in their whole
|
|
conversation, with <I>holiness to the Lord</I> written upon their
|
|
foreheads, that men may <I>call them the priests of the Lord.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. The wealth and honour of the Gentile converts shall redound to the
|
|
benefit and credit of the church,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>The Gentiles</I> shall be brought into the church. Those that were
|
|
strangers shall become <I>fellow-citizens with the saints;</I> and with
|
|
themselves they shall bring all they have, to be devoted to the glory
|
|
of God and used in his service; and the priests, the Lord's ministers,
|
|
shall have the advantage of it. It will be a great strengthening and
|
|
quickening, as well as a comfort and encouragement, to all good
|
|
Christians, to see the Gentiles serving the interests of God's kingdom.
|
|
|
|
1. They shall <I>eat the riches of the Gentiles,</I> not which they
|
|
have themselves seized by violence, but which are fairly and honourably
|
|
presented to them, as <I>gifts brought to the altar,</I> which the
|
|
priests and their families lived comfortably upon. It is not said, "You
|
|
shall <I>hoard the riches of the Gentiles,</I> and treasure them," but,
|
|
"You shall <I>eat them;</I>" for there is nothing better in riches than
|
|
to use them and to do good with them.
|
|
|
|
2. They shall <I>boast themselves in their glory.</I> Whatever was the
|
|
honour of the Gentiles converts before their conversion--their
|
|
nobility, estates, learning, virtue, or places of trust and power--it
|
|
shall all turn to the reputation of the church to which they have
|
|
joined themselves; and whatever is their glory after their
|
|
conversion--their holy zeal and strictness of conversation, their
|
|
usefulness, their patient suffering, and all the displays of that
|
|
blessed change which divine grace has made in them--shall be very much
|
|
for the glory of God and therefore all good men shall glory in it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
V. They shall have abundance of comfort and satisfaction in their own
|
|
bosoms,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
The Jews no doubt were thus privileged after their return; they were in
|
|
a new world, and now knew how to value their liberty and property, the
|
|
pleasures of which were continually fresh and blooming. Much more do
|
|
all those rejoice whom Christ has brought into the glorious liberty of
|
|
God's children, especially when the privileges of their adoption shall
|
|
be completed in the resurrection of the body.
|
|
|
|
1. <I>They shall rejoice in their portion;</I> they shall not only have
|
|
their own again, but (which is a further gift of God) they shall have
|
|
the comfort of it, and a heart to rejoice in it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+3:13">Eccl. iii. 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
Though the houses of the returned Jews, as well as their temple, be
|
|
much inferior to what they were before the captivity, yet they shall be
|
|
well pleased with them and thankful for them. It is a portion <I>in
|
|
their land,</I> their own land, the holy land, Immanuel's land, and
|
|
therefore they shall rejoice in it, having so lately known what it was
|
|
to be <I>strangers in a strange land.</I> Those that have God and
|
|
heaven for their portion have reason to say that they have a worthy
|
|
portion and to rejoice in it.
|
|
|
|
2. <I>Everlasting joy shall be unto them,</I> that is, a joyful state
|
|
of their people, which shall last long, much longer than the captivity
|
|
had lasted. Yet that joy of the Jewish nation was so much allayed, so
|
|
often interrupted, and so soon brought to an end, that we must look for
|
|
the accomplishment of this promise in the spiritual joy which believers
|
|
have in God and the eternal joy they hope for in heaven.
|
|
|
|
3. This shall be a double recompence to them, and more than double, for
|
|
all the reproach and vexation they have lain under in the land of their
|
|
captivity: "<I>For your shame you shall have double</I> honour, and
|
|
<I>in your land</I> you <I>shall possess double</I> wealth, to what you
|
|
lost; the blessing of God upon it, and the comfort you shall have in
|
|
it, shall make an abundant reparation for all the damages you have
|
|
received. You shall be owned not only as <I>God's sons,</I> but as his
|
|
<I>first-born</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+4:22">Exod. iv. 22</A>),
|
|
|
|
and therefore entitled to a double portion." As the miseries of their
|
|
captivity were so great that in them they are said to have received
|
|
<I>double for all their sins</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+40:2"><I>ch.</I> xl. 2</A>),
|
|
|
|
so the joys of their return shall be so great that in them they shall
|
|
receive <I>double for all their shame.</I> The former is applicable to
|
|
the fulness of Christ's satisfaction, in which God received <I>double
|
|
for all our sins;</I> the latter to the fulness of heaven's joys, in
|
|
which we shall receive more than <I>double for all our services</I> and
|
|
sufferings. Job's case illustrates this: when God <I>turned again his
|
|
captivity,</I> he gave him <I>twice as much as he had before.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
VI. God will be their faithful guide and a God in covenant with them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>I will direct their work in truth.</I> God by his providence will
|
|
order their affairs for the best, according to the word of his truth.
|
|
He will guide them in the ways of true prosperity, by the rules of true
|
|
policy. He will by his grace direct the works of good people in the
|
|
right way, the true way that leads to happiness; he will direct them to
|
|
be done in sincerity and then they are pleasing to him. God <I>desires
|
|
truth in the inward parts;</I> and, if we do our works in truth, he
|
|
will <I>make an everlasting covenant with us;</I> for to those that
|
|
<I>walk before him</I> and <I>are upright</I> he will certainly be a
|
|
<I>God all-sufficient.</I> Now, as a reason both of this and of the
|
|
foregoing promise, that God will recompense to them <I>double for their
|
|
shame,</I> those words come in, in the former part of the verse, <I>I
|
|
the Lord love judgment.</I> He loves that judgment should be done among
|
|
men, both between magistrates and subjects and between neighbour and
|
|
neighbour, and therefore he hates all injustice; and, when wrongs are
|
|
done to his people by their oppressors and persecutors, he is
|
|
displeased with them, not only because they are done to his people, but
|
|
because they are wrongs, and against the eternal rules of equity. If
|
|
men do not do justice, he loves to do judgment himself in giving
|
|
redress to those that suffer wrong and punishing those that do wrong.
|
|
God pleads his people's injured cause, not only because he is jealous
|
|
for them, but because he is jealous for justice. To illustrate this,
|
|
it is added that he <I>hates robbery for burnt-offering.</I> He hates
|
|
injustice even in his own people, who honour him with what they have in
|
|
their burnt-offerings, much more does he hate it when it is against his
|
|
own people; if he hates robbery when it is for burnt-offerings to
|
|
himself, much more when it is for burnt-offerings to idols, and when
|
|
not only his people are robbed of their estates, but he is robbed of
|
|
his offerings. It is a truth much to the honour of God that ritual
|
|
services will never atone for the violation of moral precepts, nor will
|
|
it justify any man's robbery to say, "It was for burnt-offerings," or
|
|
<I>Corban--It is a gift.</I> Behold, <I>to obey is better than
|
|
sacrifice,</I> to <I>do justly and love mercy</I> better than
|
|
<I>thousands of rams;</I> nay, that robbery is most of all hateful to
|
|
God which is covered with this pretence, for it makes the righteous God
|
|
to be the patron of unrighteousness. Some make this a reason of the
|
|
rejection of the Jews upon the bringing in of the Gentiles
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
|
|
|
|
because they were so corrupt in their morals, and, while they tithed
|
|
mint and cummin, made nothing of <I>judgment and mercy</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+23:23">Matt. xxiii. 23</A>),
|
|
|
|
whereas <I>God loves judgment</I> and insists upon that, and he hates
|
|
both <I>robbery for burnt offerings</I> and <I>burnt-offerings for
|
|
robbery</I> too, as that of the Pharisees, who made long prayers that
|
|
they might the more plausibly devour widows' houses. Others read these
|
|
words thus: <I>I hate rapine by iniquity,</I> that is, the spoil which
|
|
the enemies of God's people had unjustly made of them; God hated this,
|
|
and therefore would reckon with them for it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
VII. God will entail a blessing upon their posterity after them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Their seed</I> (the children of those persons themselves that are
|
|
now the blessed of the Lord, or their successors in profession, the
|
|
church's seed) shall be <I>accounted to the Lord for a generation,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+22:30">Ps. xxii. 30</A>.
|
|
|
|
1. They shall signalize themselves and make their neighbours to take
|
|
notice of them: <I>They shall be known among the Gentiles,</I> shall
|
|
distinguish themselves by the gravity, seriousness, humility, and
|
|
cheerfulness of their conversation, especially by that brotherly love
|
|
by which all men shall know them to be Christ's disciples. And, they
|
|
thus distinguishing themselves, God shall dignify them, by making them
|
|
the blessings of their age and instruments of his glory, and by giving
|
|
them remarkable tokens of his favour, which shall make them eminent and
|
|
gain them respect from all about them. Let the children of godly
|
|
parents love in such a manner that they may be known to be such, that
|
|
all who observe them may see in them the fruits of a good education,
|
|
and an answer to the prayers that were put up for them; and then they
|
|
may expect that God will make them known, by the fulfilling of that
|
|
promise to them, that <I>the generation of the upright shall be
|
|
blessed.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. God shall have the glory of this, for every one shall attribute it
|
|
to the blessing of God; all that see them shall see so much of the
|
|
grace of God in them, and his favour towards them, that they shall
|
|
<I>acknowledge them to be the seed which the Lord has blessed</I> and
|
|
doth bless, for it includes both. See what it is to be blessed of God.
|
|
Whatever good appears in any it must be taken notice of as the fruit of
|
|
God's blessing and he must be glorified in it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Isa61_10"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa61_11"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Prosperity of the Church.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 706.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>10 I will greatly rejoice in the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, my soul shall be joyful
|
|
in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation,
|
|
he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a
|
|
bridegroom decketh <I>himself</I> with ornaments, and as a bride
|
|
adorneth <I>herself</I> with her jewels.
|
|
11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden
|
|
causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the
|
|
Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT> will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth
|
|
before all the nations.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Some make this the song of joy and praise to be sung by the prophet in
|
|
the name of Jerusalem, congratulating her on the happy change of her
|
|
circumstances in the accomplishment of the foregoing promises; others
|
|
make it to be spoken by Christ in the name of the New-Testament church
|
|
triumphing in gospel grace. We may take in both, the former as a type
|
|
of the latter. We are here taught to rejoice with holy joy, to God's
|
|
honour,
|
|
|
|
1. In the beginning of this good work, the clothing of the church
|
|
<I>with righteousness and salvation,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
Upon this account <I>I will greatly rejoice in the Lord.</I> Those that
|
|
rejoice in God have cause to rejoice greatly, and we need not fear
|
|
running into an extreme in the greatness of our joy when we make God
|
|
the gladness of our joy. The first gospel song begins like this, <I>My
|
|
soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my
|
|
Saviour,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+1:46,47">Luke i. 46, 47</A>.
|
|
|
|
There is just matter for this joy, and all the reason in the world why
|
|
it should terminate in God; for salvation and righteousness are wrought
|
|
out and brought in, and the church is clothed with them. The salvation
|
|
God wrought for the Jews, and that righteousness of his in which he
|
|
appeared for them, and that reformation which appeared among them, made
|
|
them look as glorious in the eyes of all wise men as if they had been
|
|
clothed in robes of state or nuptial garments. Christ has clothed his
|
|
church with an eternal salvation (and that is truly great) by clothing
|
|
it with the righteousness both of justification and sanctification. The
|
|
<I>clean linen is the righteousness of saints,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+19:8">Rev. xix. 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
Observe how these tow are put together; those, and those only, shall be
|
|
clothed with the garments of salvation hereafter that are covered with
|
|
the robe of righteousness now: and those garments are rich and splendid
|
|
clothing, like the priestly garments (for so the word signifies) with
|
|
which the <I>bridegroom decks himself.</I> The brightness of the sun
|
|
itself is compared to them.
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+19:5">Ps. xix. 5</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>He is as a bridegroom</I> coming out of his chamber, completely
|
|
dressed. Such is the beauty of God's grace in those that are clothed
|
|
with the robe of righteousness, that by the righteousness of Christ are
|
|
recommended to God's favour and by the sanctification of the Spirit
|
|
have God's image renewed upon them; they are decked as a bride to be
|
|
espoused to God, and taken into covenant with him; they are decked as a
|
|
priest to be employed for God, and taken into communion with him.
|
|
|
|
2. In the progress and continuance of this good work,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is not like a day of triumph, which is glorious for the present, but
|
|
is soon over. No; the righteousness and salvation with which the church
|
|
is clothed are durable clothing; so they are said to be,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+23:18"><I>ch.</I> xxiii. 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
The church, when she is pleasing herself with the righteousness and
|
|
salvation that Jesus Christ has clothed her with, rejoices to think
|
|
that these inestimable blessings shall both spring for future ages and
|
|
spread to distant regions.
|
|
|
|
(1.) They shall spring forth for ages to come, as the fruits of the
|
|
earth which are produced very year, from generation to generation.
|
|
<I>As the earth,</I> even that which lies common, <I>brings forth her
|
|
bud,</I> the tender grass at the return of the year, and as <I>the
|
|
garden</I> enclosed <I>causes the things that are sown in it to spring
|
|
forth</I> in their season, so duly, so constantly, so powerfully, and
|
|
with such advantage to mankind <I>will the Lord God cause righteousness
|
|
and praise to spring forth,</I> by virtue of the covenant of grace, as,
|
|
in the former case, by virtue of the covenant of providence. See what
|
|
the promised blessings are--<I>righteousness and praise</I> (for those
|
|
that are clothed with righteousness <I>show forth the praises</I> of
|
|
him that clothed them); these shall spring forth under the influence of
|
|
the dew of divine grace. Though it may sometimes be winter with the
|
|
church, when those blessings seem to wither and do not appear, yet the
|
|
root of them is fixed, a spring-time will come, when through the
|
|
reviving beams of the approaching Sun of righteousness they shall
|
|
flourish again.
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(2.) They shall spread far, and <I>spring forth before all the
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nations;</I> the great salvation shall be published and proclaimed to
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all the world and the ends of the earth shall see it.</P>
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