1._On account of Zion I will not be silent. _That sad captivity being at hand, which was almost to blot out the name of the whole nation, it was necessary to confirm and encourage believers by many words, that with strong and assured confidence they might rely on these promises under the burden of t... [ Continue Reading ]
2._And the Gentiles shall see. _He now states more plainly the reason why he formerly said that he would not be silent, namely, that believers may be fully convinced that salvation is not promised to them in vain. _And all the kings of the earth thy glory. _Here he employs the word “glory” as meanin... [ Continue Reading ]
3._And thou shalt be a crown of glory. _Isaiah proceeds with the same subject, and we need not wonder at this; for no man, by judging from the flesh, could have formed such vast conceptions and expectations. Besides, he intended to fix the hearts of believers on the kingdom of Christ, which it was t... [ Continue Reading ]
4._Thou shalt no more be called forsaken. _He meets a difficulty which might occur to the minds of believers, seeing that they were forsaken and abandoned, while at the same time they were called a “diadem” and a “crown.” Seeing that they were hated and abhorred by all nations, and sometimes even la... [ Continue Reading ]
5._For as a young man marrieth a virgin. _This verse contains nothing more than an explanation and confirmation of the preceding verse. Now there appears to be a sort of contradiction in this respect, that in the latter clause he makes God the only Husband of the Church, while in the former clause h... [ Continue Reading ]
6._On thy walls. _As the Prophet intended to describe the perfect happiness of the kingdom of Christ, so he makes an assemblage of all that belongs to the prosperous condition of any country or city. To other advantages he adds guards and a garrison; because the greatest abundance of all good things... [ Continue Reading ]
7._And do not give him silence. _Hitherto the Prophet has spoken of the office and duty of teaching; but as this would not be enough if prayer were not likewise added, he exhorts the ministers of the word to prayer; for I think that לו, (_lo_,) “to him,” refers to God. We ought, therefore, to plead... [ Continue Reading ]
8._Jehovah hath sworn. _He proceeds with the metaphors which he formerly used; for since, owing to the corruption of our nature, the kingdom of Christ cannot be described so as to be level to our capacity; it was necessary to represent it under figures. In the same manner as he promised, first, an a... [ Continue Reading ]
9._For they who have gathered it shall eat it. _This is an explanation and confirmation of the preceding statement; for, after having testified that he will no longer permit that which the Church possesses to be laid open as a prey, he adds that she shall enjoy her possessions. Yet he shews that “co... [ Continue Reading ]
10._Pass through, pass through the gates. _From the preceding statement he draws the conclusion, that there shall be a free passage through the gates of the city, which formerly were shut or in a ruinous state; shut when it was besieged by enemies; in a ruinous state, when the city was thrown down a... [ Continue Reading ]
11._Behold, Jehovah hath, proclaimed. _He means that the Lord, by acting miraculously and beyond the judgment or expectation of the flesh, will cause all the nations to know that this is done by his command. It might be objected, How shall it be brought about that the peoples, who now make fierce re... [ Continue Reading ]
12._And they shall call you a holy people. _He describes the benefit of the coming of the Lord; that is, because, by shewing that he takes care of his elect as his heritage, he will make it evident to the whole world that the covenant of adoption, which he made with Abraham, was not deceptive. He th... [ Continue Reading ]