Isaiah 52:9,10

Break forth into joy— See chap. Isaiah 44:23 Isaiah 49:13. The figure here used is single, designed to set forth the greatness and excellence of the benefit of redemption. This address first animates the restored church to celebrate the divine praises with its utmost power; and secondly sets forth the reason of this exhortation, drawn from the greatness of the benefit, which is proposed in the middle of the ninth verse, and more largely set forth in the 10th. By the arm of the Lord, we are to understand the divine power, particularly as discernible in the establishment and wonderful progress of the Gospel. By the waste places of Jerusalem, the prophet means the church as in its state of desolation, just before the time, here alluded to, of its restoration and deliverance.