Isaiah 27:2

In that day, &c.— The church, being purified by the fire of affliction, shall at that time, the prophet informs us, appear in its true character: Fervent in faith, love, zeal, piety, it shall be beheld in all its full beauty and comeliness, which is the end and design of all its afflictions and trials, This he sets forth by an elegant emblem, declaring that God should have at that time a vineyard of red, or fervent wine; alluding to the church, glowing with the zeal of religion and red with the blood of martyrs: see Revelation 7:14. This was the case of the church at the time of the Maccabees, and at the time of the apostles, after the Dioclesian persecution; but yet, says Vitringa, we expect something greater in the full completion of this prophesy.