ISAIAH 35 COMMENTARY

EDITED BY GLENN PEASE

Joy of the Redeemed

1The desert and the parched land will be glad;

the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.

Like the crocus,

1.BARNES, “The wilderness and the solitary place - This is evidently figurative

language, such as is often employed by the prophets. The word rendered ‘solitary place’ (ציה

tsı�ya�h), denotes properly a dry place, a place without springs and streams of water; and as such

places produce no verdure, and nothing to sustain life, the word comes to mean a desert. Such expressions are often used in the Scriptures to express moral or spiritual desolation; and in this sense evidently the phrase is used here. It does not refer to the desolations of Judea, but to all places that might be properly called a moral wilderness, or a spiritual desert; and thus aptly expresses the condition of the world that was to be benefited by the blessings foretold in this chapter. The parallel expressions in Isa_41:17-19; Isa_44:3-4, show that this is the sense in which the phrase is here used; and that the meaning is, that every situation which might be appropriately called a moral wilderness - that is, the whole pagan world - would ultimately be made glad. The sense is, that as great and happy changes would take place in regard to those desolations as if the wilderness should become a vast field producing the lily and the rose; or as if Isa_35:2 there should be imparted to such places the glory of Lebanon, and the beauty of Sharon and Carmel.

Shall be glad for them - This is evidently a personification, a beautiful poetic figure, by which the wilderness is represented as expressing joy. The sense is, the desolate moral world would be filled with joy on account of the blessings which are here predicted. The phrase ‘for

them,’ expressed in Hebrew by the affix מ (m) means, doubtless, on account of the blessings

which are foretold in this prophecy. Lowth supposes, however, that the letter has been added to

the word ‘shall be glad’ (יששו yes'us'u�), by mistake, because the following word (מדבר midba�r)

begins with a מ (m). The reading of the present Hebrew text is followed by none of the ancient

versions; but it is nevertheless probably the correct reading, and there is no authority for changing it. The sense is expressed above by the phrase ‘shall rejoice on account of the things contained in this prophecy;’ to wit, the destruction of all the foes of God, and the universal

establishment of his kingdom. Those who wish to see a more critical examination of the words used here, may find it in Rosenmuller and Gesenius.

And blossom as the rose - The word rendered ‘rose’ (חבצלת cha�bı�tsa�leth) occurs only here

and in Son_2:1, where it is also rendered a ‘rose.’ The Septuagint renders it, Κρίνον Krinon ‘Lily.’ The Vulgate also renders it, Lilium - the lily. The Syriac renders it also by a word which signifies the lily or narcissus; or, according to the Syriac lexicographers, ‘the meadow-saffron,’ an autumnal flower springing from poisonous bulbous roots, and of a white and violet color. The sense is not, however, affected materially whatever be the meaning of the word. Either the rose, the lily, or the saffron, would convey the idea of beauty compared with the solitude and desolation of the desert. The word ‘rose’ with us, as being a flower better known, conveys a more striking image of beauty, and there is no impropriety in retaining it.

2. CLARKE, “Shall be glad - יששום yesusum; in one MS. the מ mem seems to have been

added; and שום sum is upon a rasure in another. None of the ancient versions acknowledge it; it

seems to have been a mistake, arising from the next word beginning with the same letter.

Seventeen MSS. have ישושום yesusum, both vaus expressed; and five MSS. יששם yesusum, without

the vaus. Probably the true reading is, “The wilderness and the dry place shall be glad. “Not for

them.

3. GILL, “The wilderness, and the solitary place, shall be glad for them,.... Either for the wild beasts, satyrs, owls, and vultures, that shall inhabit Edom or Rome, and because it shall be an habitation for them: or they shall be glad for them, the Edomites, and for the destruction of them; that is, as the Targum paraphrases it, "they that dwell in the wilderness, in the dry land, shall rejoice;'' the church, in the wilderness, being obliged to fly there from the persecution of antichrist, and thereby become desolate as a wilderness; and so called, in allusion to the Israelites in the wilderness, Act_7:38 shall now rejoice at the ruin of Rome, and the antichristian states; by which means it shall come into a more flourishing condition; see Rev_12:14, and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose; or "as the lily", as the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions; and so the Targum, "as the lilies:'' not Judea or Jerusalem, as the Jewish writers, become like a desert, through the devastations made in it by the king of Assyria's army; and now made glad, and become flourishing, upon the departure of it from them: rather the Gentile world, which was like a wilderness, barren and unfruitful, before the Gospel came into it; but by means of that, which brought joy with it, and was attended with fragrancy, it diffusing the savour of the knowledge of Christ in every place, it became fruitful and flourishing, and of a sweet odour, and looked delightful, and pleasant: though it seems best to understand it of the Gentile church in the latter day, after the

destruction of antichrist, when it shall be in a most desirable and comfortable situation. These words stand in connection with the preceding chapter Isa_34:1, and very aptly follow upon it.

4. HENRY, “I. The desert land blooming. In the foregoing chapter we had a populous and

fruitful country turned into a horrid wilderness; here we have in lieu of that, a wilderness turned

into a good land. When the land of Judah was freed from the Assyrian army, those parts of the

country that had been made as a wilderness by the ravages and outrages they committed began

to recover themselves, and to look pleasantly again, and to blossom as the rose. When the

Gentile nations, that had been long as a wilderness, bringing forth no fruit to God, received the

gospel, joy came with it to them, Psa_67:3, Psa_67:4; Psa_96:11, Psa_96:12. When Christ was

preached in Samaria there was great joy in that city (Act_8:8); those that sat in darkness saw a great and joyful light, and then they blossomed, that is, gave hopes of abundance of fruit; for

that was it which the preachers of the gospel aimed at (Joh_15:16), to go and bring forth fruit, Rom_1:13; Col_1:6. Though blossoms are not fruit, and often miscarry and come to nothing, yet

they are in order to fruit. Converting grace makes the soul that was a wilderness to rejoice with joy and singing, and to blossom abundantly. This flourishing desert shall have all the glory of Lebanon given to it, which consisted in the strength and stateliness of its cedars, together with the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, which consisted in corn and cattle. Whatever is valuable

in any institution is brought into the gospel. All the beauty of the Jewish church was admitted

into the Christian church, and appeared in its perfection, as the apostle shows at large in his

epistle to the Hebrews. Whatever was excellent an desirable in the Mosaic economy is translated

into the evangelical institutes.

5. JAMISON, “Isa_35:1-10. Continuation of the prophecy in the thirty-fourth chapter.

See on Isa_34:1, introduction there.

solitary place — literally, “a dry place,” without springs of water. A moral wilderness is meant.

for them — namely, on account of the punishment inflicted according to the preceding prophecy on the enemy; probably the blessings set forth in this chapter are included in the causes for joy (Isa_55:12).

rose — rather, “the meadow-saffron,” an autumnal flower with bulbous roots; so Syriac translation.

6. K&D, “Edom falls, never to rise again. Its land is turned into a horrible wilderness. But, on the other hand, the wilderness through which the redeemed Israel returns, is changed into a flowery field. “Gladness fills the desert and the heath; and the steppe rejoices, and flowers like the crocus. It flowers abundantly, and rejoices; yea, rejoicing and singing: the glory of Lebanon is given to it, the splendour of Carmel and the plain of Sharon; they will see the glory

of Jehovah, the splendour of our God.” יששום מד+ר (to be accentuated with tiphchah munach, not

with mercha tiphchah) has been correctly explained by Aben-Ezra. The original Nun has been

assimilated to the following Mem, just as pidyo1n in Num_3:49 is afterwards written pidyo1m

(Ewald, §91, b). The explanation given by Rashi, Gesenius, and others (laetabuntur his), is

untenable, if only because su1s (sıs) cannot be construed with the accusative of the object (see at Isa_8:6); and to get rid of the form by correction, as Olshausen proposes, is all the more

objectionable, because “the old full plural in u1n is very frequently met with before Mem”

(Böttcher), in which case it may have been pronounced as it is written here.

(Note: Böttcher calls u�m the oldest primitive form of the plural; but it is only a

strengthening of u�n; cf., tannım = tannın, Hanameel = Hananeel, and such Sept. forms as

Gesem, Madiam, etc. (see Hitzig on Jer_32:7). Wetzstein told me of a Bedouin tribe, in

whose dialect the third pers. praet. regularly ended in m, e.g., akalum (they have eaten).)

According to the Targum on Son_2:1 (also Saad., Abulw.), the cha�bhatstseleth is the narcissus; whilst the Targum on the passage before us leaves it indefinite - sicut lilia. The name (a

derivative of ba�tsal) points to a bulbous plant, probably the crocus and primrose, which were

classed together.

(Note: The crocus and the primrose (המצליתא in Syriac) may really be easily confounded,

but not the narcissus and primrose, which have nothing in common except that they are bulbous plants, like most of the flowers of the East, which shoot up rapidly in the spring, as soon as the winter rains are over. But there are other colchicaceae beside our colchicum autumnale, which flowers before the leaves appear and is therefore called filius ante patrem (e.g., the eastern colchicum variegatum).)

The sandy steppe would become like a lovely variegated plain covered with meadow flowers.

(Note: Layard, in his Nineveh and Babylon, describes in several places the enchantingly beautiful and spring-like variation of colours which occurs in the Mesopotamian “desert;”

though what the prophet had in his mind was not the real mida�r, or desert of pasture land,

but, as the words tsiya�h and ‛ara�bha�h show, the utterly barren sandy desert.)

On gılath, see at Isa_33:6 (cf., Isa_65:18): the infin. noun takes the place of an inf. abs., which

expresses the abstract verbal idea, though in a more rigid manner; 'aph (like gam in Gen_31:15;

Gen_46:4) is an exponent of the increased emphasis already implied in the gerunds that come after. So joyful and so gloriously adorned will the barren desert, which has been hitherto so mournful, become, on account of the great things that are in store for it. Lebanon, Carmel, and Sharon have, as it were, shared their splendour with the desert, that all might be clothed alike in festal dress, when the glory of Jehovah, which surpasses everything self in its splendour, should appear; that glory which they would not only be privileged to behold, but of which they would be honoured to be the actual scene.

7. COFFMAN, “Many scholars profess to see a close connection between this chapter and the preceding one, and to interpret the wonderful blessings portrayed in this as being the consequence of the destruction of God's enemies in Isaiah 34. We see no such thing. Whatever similarities may exist here between the great blessings of the Kingdom of Christ, which is most surely the focus of the chapter, and the return of a small remnant of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity, it appears to us are very limited; and both in such types and the great reality itself, the cause of them must be discerned as being the intervention of God Himself in human affairs. Was it due to the destruction of enemies? Not entirely, because God still has enemies. The cause of the blessings in Christ's kingdom is Jesus Christ himself. He is the HIGHWAY to heaven. Christ is also the highway that brought the Jews back to Jerusalem after

the captivity; because the very purpose of God's bringing them back was that the Jews should be preserved as a separate people until Messiah should be born.

The existence of a "highway" through the desert from Babylon to Judah, and that desert that blossomed like a rose as they came back home through that desert simply did not exist. This passage was not talking about such literal things as that.

There could, of course, be a prophecy here of a "highway" for the Jews to use on the way back from Babylon, if we could interpret such a highway as being the providential assistance that Cyrus the Persian ruler gave the Jews in allowing, aiding and encouraging it. Where else in these ten verses do we locate a prophecy of Jews returning to Jerusalem?

8. CALVIN, “1.The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad. Here the Prophet describes a

wonderful change; for having in the former chapter described the destruction of Idumaea, and having said

that it would be changed into a wilderness, he now promises, on the other hand, fertility to the wilderness,

so that barren and waste lands shall become highly productive. This is God’ own work; for, as he blesses

the whole earth, so he waters some parts of it more lightly, and other parts more bountifully, by his

blessing, and afterwards withdraws and removes it altogether on account of the ingratitude of men.

This passage is explained in various ways. I pass by the dreams of the Jews, who apply all passages of

this kind to the temporal reign of the Messiah, which they have contrived by their own imagination. Some

explain it as referring to Judea, and others to the calling of the Gentiles. But let us see if it be not more

proper to include the whole world along with Judea; for he predicted the destruction of the whole world in

such terms as not to spare Judea, and not only so, but because “ judgment of God begins at his house or

sanctuary,” (1Pe_4:17,) the singularly melancholy desolation of the Holy Land was foretold, that it might

be a remarkable example. Thus beginning appropriately and justly with Judea, he calls the whole world

a wilderness, because everywhere the wrath of God abounded; and, therefore, I willingly view this

passage as referring to Judea, and afterwards to the other parts of the world. As if he had said, “ the Lord

shall have punished the wickedness and crimes of men, and taken vengeance on Jews and Gentiles, the

wilderness shall then be changed into a habitable country, and the face of the whole earth shall be

renewed.” Now this restoration is a remarkable instance of the goodness of God; for, when men have

provoked him by their revolt, they deserve to perish altogether, and to be utterly destroyed, especially

they whom he has adopted to be his peculiar people. Isaiah has his eye chiefly on the Jews, that in their

distressful condition they may not faint.

Let us now see when this prophecy was fulfilled, or when it shall be fulfilled. The Lord began some kind of

restoration when he brought his people out of Babylon; but that was only a slight foretaste, and, therefore,

I have no hesitation in saying that this passage, as well as others of a similar kind, must refer to the

kingdom of Christ; and in no other light could it be viewed, if we compare it to other prophecies. By “

kingdom of Christ,” I mean not only that which is begun here, but that which shall be completed at the last

day, which on that account is called “ day of renovation and restoration,” (Act_3:21;) because believers

will never find perfect rest till that day arrive. And the reason why the prophets speak of the kingdom of

Christ in such lofty terms is, that they look at that end when the true happiness of believers, shall be most

fully restored.

After having spoken of dreadful calamities and predicted the lamentable ruin of the whole world, the

Prophet comforts believers by this promise, in which he foretells that all things shall be restored. This is

done by Christ, by whom alone they can be renewed and made glad; for he alone renews everything, and

restores it to proper order; apart from him there can be nothing but filth and desolation, nothing but most

miserable ruin both in heaven and in earth. But it ought to be carefully observed, that the world needed to

be prepared by chastisements of this nature, in order that it might be fit and qualified for receiving such

distinguished favor, and that the grace of Christ might be more fully manifested, which would have been

concealed if everything had remained in its original state. It was therefore necessary that the proud and

fierce minds of men should be east down and subdued, that they might taste the kindness of Christ, and

partake of his power and strength.

9. BI, “The blessings of the Gospel

The thirty-fourth and the thirty-fifth chapters of Isaiah are by the best scholars supposed to constitute one entire and complete prophecy, not connected specially, or at least organically, with what goes before or follows. It is a masterpiece of poetry. A single poem divided into two parts; in the first part, the prophet sets forth in lurid colours the universal judgments of God upon all the nations of the earth which have arrayed themselves against Him and oppressed His people. As an instance of what shall come upon all, he selects a single nation, that of the Edomites, and shows forth in them what shall come upon all. This awful storm of wrath passes away; and we see in the “clear shining after rain” the beautiful prospect which is opened up to both earth and man, when God’s enemies cease from troubling and His people are gathered unto Himself. The almost universal habit of spiritualising this, and all like prophecies, and allegorising them into an exclusive application to present Gospel blessings, has served to hide the chief significance of the passage from the eyes of the ordinary reader. The promise of this glorious chapter is without doubt primarily and chiefly to the Jews, referring to their final restoration to their own land in the last days. That it has a preliminary reference to the return from the Babylonian captivity is possible, but it looks far beyond that time to the return from the dispersion which the Jews are now suffering. Even the joy of that first return did not fulfil the glorious promises of this vision. God’s day of vengeance, and the year of His redeemed, are thus set side by side. (Compare with 61:2; and 63:4, with Mat_24:27-31; Luk_21:25-28.)

I. THE REJOICING CREATION. It is almost impossible not to associate the magnificent opening words of this chapter with the hope held out to the “whole creation which groaneth and travalleth in pain together until now, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God, when it shall also be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Rom_8:19-23). “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them.” This is a beautiful picture of the sympathy of the earth with man. Not only do the beautiful parts of the earth rejoice with the home-coming of man from his wanderings from God, but the very wilderness and solitary places rejoice and are glad for them, because also in man’s redemption the creation which was cursed for man’s sake is set free from that curse. The gladness which is here ascribed to the inanimate creation corresponds with the songs and everlasting joy which crown the redeemed of the Lord on their return. The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto them and the excellency of Carmel and Sharon. Two other things are ascribed to the creation. They are represented as consciously participating in the great goodness of God to man. They rejoice even with joy and singing; and they see the glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God. It is the habit of our prophet thus to invest nature with consciousness and intelligence. It is the habit of-all scriptural writers to put man and nature into close sympathy with each other, declaring that God is the maker of both. There is a great spiritual as well as poetic truth in this. How powerfully are we affected by plastic nature! How responsive the soil, the fruits of earth, and trees of the forest to the loving touch and sympathy of man! Who does not know how wonderfully different

all nature seemed to us when we were first converted to God. What a world of beauty this will be when the curse is removed and man and nature, so manifestly made for each other, shall rejoice and be glad together!

II. THE BLESSINGS OF SALVATION. The outline of blessing which the prophet sets before us is not complete, but simply consists of a few bold strokes, serving to fill us with the hope of perfect and complete recovery to God.

1. Men shall see God. The vision of God has already been ascribed in a metaphorical sense to the inanimate creation. It is certainly true that, among the chiefest blessings of salvation, is the vision of God When Jesus came into the world, we are told that in Him we beheld the glory of God, full of grace and truth We are also told that the first effect of the new birth is the ability of the sinner to see God. The purification of the heart which comes with the new life of God in the soul, carries with it the promise of seeing God (Joh_1:14; Joh_3:3; Mat_5:8; 2Co_3:18). But there is manifestly something more than this meant. “They shall see the glory of Jehovah and the excellency of our God.” This can refer to nothing else than that beatific vision of God spoken of by Paul in 1Co_13:12; by John in the Rev_22:4. Yet again, if we are to include the saints of the Church in this prophecy, then we shall also have to look for a more literal fulfilment still. When the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven in power and great glory (Mat_26:64; Dan_7:13; Joh_1:51; 1Th_4:16; Rev_1:7), then the scattered Jews shall see their long-rejected Lord, as Saul of Tarsus saw Him on the way to Damascus (Act_9:3), and be instantly converted, and start on their homeward way, greeted by all the smiling and rejoicing flowers and trees and pools and newly fertilised wildernesses and waste places of the earth. During all these dark centuries the veil has been over the eyes of the Jews, but in this time the veil shall be taken away and they shall see the face, the glory, the excellency of Jehovah-God.

2. They shall strengthen and encourage each other. This is most probably a retrospective exhortation. In view of this promise and the certain coming of Jehovah and their restoration, they are exhorted to strengthen and encourage each other. There are those whose hands are weak, whose knees are feeble. They cannot fight the good fight of faith with courage, they cannot run with patience the race that is set before them. The long delays and afflictions experienced during the time of waiting has taken not only the courage out of many, but has filled them with despair. Therefore they were to say to those of a fearful heart or of a hasty tendency to unbelief:

“Be strong, fear not; behold your God will come with vengeance; even God with a recompense; He will come and save you. Thus the prophet calls upon the strong to impart theft strength to the weak and their faith and courage to the faint-hearted. The new Testament writers transfer the spirit, and in part, the very words of this exhortation to the saints of the Church of God. “We that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak” Rom_15:1).

3. Infirmities shall be removed. Not only shall the earth be restored to primitive beauty, clothed with redemption glory, and tided with an almost conscious sympathy and joy, but all the infirmities which sin has entailed on our poor sinful human nature shall be removed. In view of this entire deliverance from all the consequences of sin, along with the people of Jehovah, the sore spots of earth shad be healed too. Waters in the wilderness, streams in the desert, pools covering the parched sand, and springs bursting out of thirsty lands; no longer a mirage thrown up from a few turfs of dried herbage, but veritable grass with reeds and rushes shall greet the returning and healed pilgrims. The beginning of this marvel of redemption came when Jesus was first here, opening blind eyes, healing lame limbs, unlocking deaf ears, and loosing silent tongues. Surely, if we have the will to do the will of God, we shall know of this doctrine whether it be of God.

III. THE WAY HOME. Now follows a wondrous picture of the way of the return for the long absent wanderer. The way of the transgressor is hard, and the world away from God is a barren and thirsty land; but so soon as the face is set toward God and heaven, heaven’s God makes the way of return easy and sure. The dispersion of the Jews was a way of misery. In the return of the Jews to God and their own land we behold the truth of the spiritual way which God has prepared for every sinner to return to Him, and by Him to heaven.

1. It is a highway. “An highway shall be there.” A broad and open way, cast up and distinguished from all ether roads and tracks. It has both breadth and narrowness. Broad enough for all the world to travel over,—and He will have all men to be saved,—and yet m the highway there is a “narrow way,” in which every man must walk for himself, alone and yet not alone—alone in that he must believe for himself; not alone, in that others are walking with him on the same terms and surrounded by the same conditions.

2. It is a way of holiness. That is, it is a way clean in itself, and only for the clean to traverse. “The unclean shall not pass over it.” Drunkards, liars, adulterers, fornicators, covetous, idolaters, and extortioners may not walk in that way. For none of these sins shall see or enter into the kingdom of heaven. When the scoffer points to such characters in the “visible” Church, the sufficient answer is that the Church is not the way, but Jesus Himself is the Way, and all that are in Christ Jesus are new creatures, old things having passed away and all things having become new (2Co_5:17).

3. God is with them in the way. For such is the meaning of the expression. “It shall be for those.” God’s children have in a sense to walk alone, and entering this way, they have to break with many who in the days of their flesh were their companions, but the presence and companionship of God with them in the way will more than compensate. No man who knows the fellowship of God and the saints ever misses the company of the world.

4. It is a way of perfect plainness. No one need fear getting lost in this way. It is so simple and straightforward, so guarded and marked, that the simple and unlearned need not err therein. “He that followeth Me,” said Jesus, “shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Besides, God has promised to hold us by our right hand, and to keep us from falling Isa_41:13; Jud_1:24).

5. It is a safe way. No lion or any ravenous beast shall be there, nor be permitted to go up thereon. God has cleared the way of enemies, so far as their ability to harm us is concerned. It was only when” Christian” turned out of the way that he met the devil and had to fight him, and even when the lions fiercely growled at him, he discovered that, by keeping in the middle of the path, they could not approach him, being chained.

IV. SAFE AT HOME. What a picture is here presented to the poor outcasts of Israel! There had been a dispersion and a home-coming from Babylon. There was to be yet another far wider and more prolonged dispersion, and then at last a final homecoming. In view of this the prophet bursts out with a triumphant exclamation of victory, in which he sets all the redeemed singing for joy. He sees the wanderers and outcasts gathering from every quarter of the earth (Isa_11:12; Isa_51:3). They come with songs of everlasting joy on their lips, bursting from their glad and happy hearts. It has been a long night to them, but joy has at last come with this thriceblessed morning. Is not this a blessed picture, too, of the triumphant entrance into the presence of God of those who have fought a good fight, kept the faith, and finished their course? (G. F. Pentecost, D. D.)

Transformation

The prophecy before us is one of those in which the so-called secondary meaning is, in truth, the primary. The spiritual takes precedence of the natural.

I. THE SAD CONDITION OF THE LOCALITIES ON WHICH THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST IS INTENDED TO OPERATE. Let us gather into one cluster all that is said of them. “A wilderness,” “a solitary place,” “parched ground,” “thirsty laud,” “a habitation of dragons.” With the exception of the last-mentioned, all the desolation seems to turn upon the absence of one element—water. What simile could so vividly depict the moral barrenness and desolation, whether of the individual, or of the world at large, apart from the glorious Gospel of the blessed God? What a wilderness the heart is, that has not God dwelling in it! The idea of “solitariness” may seem to disappear when this word “habitation” comes into view. But what a habitation it is! “A habitation of dragons.” That, and that only, was wanting to complete the picture—the foul serpent brood, with their huge encircling folds, prepared to crush the life out of every creature that may cross their dreaded path. To a heart which has within it that “well of water springing up into everlasting life,” there is no sadder scene than the unutterable desolateness of these moral wastes presented by hearts that are unchanged. What is true of the individual is equally true of the aspect presented by the world at large. It may, perhaps, be imagined that the one element which is wanting to turn all this desolation into smiling fertility is Civilisation. That has been already weighed in the balances and found wanting. What the wilderness, and the solitary place, and the desert, and the parched ground, and the thirsty land require is—the Water of Life, gushing from the smitten rock, Christ Jesus.

II. THE EFFECTS PRODUCED BY THE KINGDOM OF JESUS. Even to us, in a country where water is plentiful, the beauty and appropriateness of the image are at once apparent. What a charm it adds to the landscape, whether in the form of the great ocean, bearing on its bosom the treasures of the world, or of the river winding through the pleasant meadows, which drink in fertility and beauty from the living stream! The like with its mirror-like surface basking in the sun, suggests, too, the theme of the prophet’s song. But it was with an appreciation more intense that the inhabitants of these Eastern lands regarded this emblem of the life that is in Jesus Christ. Water spoke to them of deliverance from death. Hence, wherever this glad Gospel is spoken of, we find this emblem employed to bring before the mind the joy-giving results of the kingdom of Christ. Note the results as these are brought before us in our text.

1. Gladness. It requires no great effort of imagination to realise the glad aspect of nature refreshed by copious rains, after a heat that has scorched the grass, and dwarfed the corn. Fitting emblem, this, of the great joy which the Gospel of Jesus brings with it to human hearts.

2. Fertility. “It shall blossom abundantly.” This fertility not only stands connected with life, it is the outcome of its existence. The desert is always barren. But the mighty power of the Gospel of Jesus converts this moral wilderness into a fruit-bearing garden of the Lord.

3. Beauty. “It shall blossom as the rose.” One has only to picture to himself a part of this earth’s surface, parched, desert, and barren, and to think of the marvellous change which would be produced upon it were he, on revisiting the scene, to find it covered with the fairest flowers that our gardens know. The first and most striking impression made upon the mind would be that of surpassing beauty. Even so is it with the marvellous moral transformation which the prophecy before us contemplates. The glorious annals of missionary effort render it unnecessary to draw on the imagination. What a beauty is unfolded in a Christ-like life!

4. Glory and majesty. “The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel.” To live under the power of Jesus is the true secret of a noble life. Whatever the sphere of life which the man occupies, he is in closest alliance with the majesty of heaven, and in virtue of that alliance is raised to regal dignity.

5. A vision that extends into the Holy of holies. “They shall see the glory of Jehovah, and the excellency of our God. (J. Kay.)

The transformative field and force of the Gospel

I. THE SPHERE IN WINCH THE GOSPEL OPERATES.

1. The condition of depraved humanity is that of solitude. It is in a state of awful isolation. It is away from God and from fellowship with all holy spirits. Between corrupt souls there is no true fellowship, and there cannot be.

2. The condition of depraved humanity is that of wildness. It is a wilderness. Depraved souls are productive, but it is the productiveness of the wilderness.

II. THE TRANSFORMATION WHICH THE GOSPEL EFFECTS.

1. The Gospel makes the sphere joyous. “The wilderness shall be glad,” &c. What gladness the Gospel brings into the soul when received in full faith, the gladness of gratitude, love, hope, communion with infinite goodness.

2. The Gospel makes this sphere beautiful. “It shall blossom as the rose.” The Gospel imparts to the soul beauty of the highest kind—moral beauty, the beauty of the Lord.

3. The Gospel makes the sphere grand. “The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it.” As Carmel and Lebanon tower above the plains of Palestine, so the soul into which the Gospel enters is raised above its unconverted contemporaries. Christliness makes man great in moral strength, elevation, and majesty.

4. The Gospel makes the sphere glorious. “They shall see the glory of the Lord.” (Homilist.)

Christianity finally triumphant

I. THE CERTAINTY THAT THE NEEDED DIFFUSION OF TRUE RELIGION WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED. Man is always animated to the performance of duty by the hope of success; and in the onerous duties to which Christians are summoned, we must be animated by the assurance, proceeding from the highest authority, that our efforts shall be crowned with success. Before stating the grounds upon which the certainty as to the diffusion of our religion is founded, we shall notice some matters which have appeared to render it equivocal, but which do not really interfere with it.

1. The certainty of this diffusion is not interfered with by the obstacles against which religion in its advancing progress has to contend. The obstacles are numerous and formidable; arising from the long-indulged defects of its own disciples; the varieties existing amongst men, of language, of national character, and of social habits; the public jealousies and antipathies which so often bar intercourse, and which have sometimes been kindled into desolating wars; the inveterate depravity of the human heart, nursed into rancorous maturity by the impostures, whether barbarous or refined, which have so long prevailed, and by the malignant influence of the god of this world. To many agencies such obstacles as these would be undoubtedly fatal. But our religion possesses resources which elevate it far above and beyond them.

2. The certainty of which we speak is not interfered with by the differences existing in the professing Church as to the mode in which the anticipated diffusion shall come. Some aver that the diffusion is to take place in consequence of the personal appearance of the Saviour

upon the earth; others hold that it is to come by the ordinary instrumentalities already existing in the Christian system, rendered effectual by the abundant outpouring of the Spirit. How can the ignorance of a private soldier in an immense army, as to the plan of the great chieftain, argue against the fact that that plan when developed and carried out shall secure a final and glorious victory?

3. The certainty is not interfered with by obscurity as to the time at which the anticipated diffusion shall be effected. Obscurity resting over the time when the desires of the Church shall be fulfilled and when the wants of the world shall be supplied, is a direct appointment of God, not to be the object of curiosity on the one hand, nor the source of scepticism on the other.

II. THE GROUNDS OR EVIDENCE UPON WHICH WE MUST CONSIDER THAT CERTAINTY AS RESTING. It is to be deduced—

1. From general principles as to the character and government of God. Let it be admitted that God exists, that He is the moral Governor and Sovereign of the universe, that He is supremely concerned for the maintenance of His own honour, and that while powerful, and just, and holy, He is also kind and benevolent, desiring and resolved upon the well-being of His creatures, and then the conclusion which we now advocate appears to us reasonable and unavoidable. If our religion be the instrument by which He will act upon the hearts of men, so as to turn them “from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God,” then, that religion will advance and proceed until every purpose of the Divine majesty and love shall have been conducted to delightful accomplishment.

2. From the constitution and progress of our religion itself. The religion of the Gospel is formed with capacities for, and with a direct view to, universal diffusion. It does not admit of any ceremonial restrictions; it takes no note of national preferences or peculiarities; it owns no distinction of rank, clime, or co]our; it addresses men on grand, comprehensive principles, dealing with them in the common wants and properties of their nature; it is founded on a redeeming provision of boundless sufficiency—a propitiation for the sins of the world; and its commission is universal as mankind. If, from the constitution of our religion you pass to its history, you find that history always bearing us onward to precisely the same conclusion. There is no class of obstacles over which it has not achieved triumphs, no order of beings among whom it has not acquired converts.

3. From the expressed testimony of the Sacred Volume.

III. THE RESULTS WHICH FROM THE NEEDED DIFFUSION OF OUR RELIGION WILL ARISE.

1. Happiness in the world. “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them,” &c. By the disciples of scepticism Christianity has often been slandered as the cause of sorrow. But the true spiritual religion of the Gospel can produce nothing but what is accordant with its sublime and munificent nature. Christianity never spake a word but to utter a promise, never took a step but to bring a boon, never struck a blow but to emancipate a captive, never exerted an agency but to elevate and redeem a soul. As Christianity advances, there will be the full development of results, of which now we have instances. There will be happiness to individuals, to families, and to communities or nations. Yet, what is this to the happiness of the life which is to come?

2. Supreme honour to God. “They shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.” In connection with the diffusion of our religion God will display and magnify the majestic attributes of His nature. In connection with the display and magnifying of the Divine perfections, God will receive the homage and the highest praise of all created beings. The happiness is the happiness of gratitude. Earth, with ten thousand times ten thousand

voices, will celebrate His praise; the angels of heaven and “the spirits of the just made perfect” will join in the long and loud acclaim, and redemption will constitute the noble theme of their noblest songs. (J. Parsons.)

Christmas blessings

I. THE WORLD WITHOUT THE GOSPEL IS A WILDERNESS, a “desert,” a “solitary place.” What though the bright promise of the spring, the warm glow of summer, the rich maturity of autumn, the quiet rest of winter, are full of beauty! What though Nature’s broad plains are watered by noble rivers, though her mountains rise with majesty and grandeur, though her valleys “stand so thick with corn that they laugh and sing,” and though a teeming population give animation to every habitable spot; yet, to the spiritual eye and apart from the Gospel, all is but a desert and a solitary place! And if it be so in our own fair land, which is the glory of all lands, what of the heathen nations? Men have broken loose from God. Sin has overspread the world. There is nothing to sustain the Divine life, nothing to insure spiritual health, nothing to promote the soul’s eternal welfare.

II. WHAT, THEN, IS THE CHANGE WHICH THE GOSPEL PRODUCES? It is the same in one and all when it comes with “demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” All things become new. The “fruits of the Spirit” spring up, the solitary place is made glad, the desert rejoices and blossoms as the rose. Conclusion—

1. Has my heart been made glad by the Gospel?

2. What am I doing to make the hearts of others glad? These are questions which demand prompt answers, because—

3. The time is short. (Josiah Batsman, M. A.)

The wilderness made glad

I. A DESERT MAY BE CONSIDERED AS BARREN AND UNCIVILISED. So, in general, are heathen countries. But, instead of unfruitfulness and barbarism, Christianity would introduce culture, civilisation, and everything which, in connection with these, tends to promote the substantial comforts of life. The Bible and the plough go together.

II. A WILDERNESS MAY BE CONSIDERED AS A PLACE OF DREARY SOLITUDE. But the Gospel would introduce the endearments of society; or, at all events, sweeten solitude itself. Among even the more numerous tribes of savages, social enjoyment is but small. They have, indeed, their feasts; but these are seasons of diabolical, rather than of human mirth. Their habitual character, undoubtedly, is retiredness, melancholy, and taciturnity. On the other hand, true religion gives birth to those feelings which prompt man with confidence to seek man; while, at the same time, it enlarges the mind, and furnishes many rational and enlivening topics on which men delight to speak out of the abundance of the heart.

III. A WILDERNESS MAY BE CONSIDERED AS A PLACE OF INHUMANITY AND CRUELTY. And such are heathen countries (Psa_74:20).

IV. When we hear of a wilderness we think of A PLACE OF COMFORTLESS SORROW. The heathen world contains not within itself the means of soothing the sad distress with which it is filled. But such a wilderness would be gladdened by the Gospel, which would bring home to the afflicted and dying “the peace of God which passeth all understanding.”

V. LIKE A WILDERNESS, THE HEATHEN WORLD IS A PLACE OF AWFUL DANGER. “I was in perils,” said the apostle Paul, “in the wilderness” (2Co_11:26). “Where there, is no vision the people perish.” Pro_29:18). Improvement—

1. Let us improve the subject as furnishing ourselves with ground of gratitude and admonition. How thankful ought we to be when we contrast our own happy situation with the state of those who “sit in darkness, and in the region and shadow of death”!

2. It becomes us to consider whether we have personally embraced the Gospel.

3. Let us improve the subject in reference to the heathen.

4. According to God’s wise determination human instruments are necessary (Rom_10:14-15).

5. The means of support must be furnished.

6. Already, He who is to be crowned Lord of all has gained some of His most signal triumphs in modern times, through this instrumentality. (James Foote, M. A.)

Nativity

Here are three things to be considered.

I. THE WILDERNESS ITSELF. The world before the appearance of the Gospel was dry as a wilderness, being destitute of God’s holy Spirit, which is the water of life, and the immediate cause of all righteousness. The heathen were without the good Spirit, they were exposed to the assaults of evil spirits, whose employment it is to go “to and fro in the earth” as wild beasts in a wilderness, seeking whom they may devour. And it has ever been the way of wicked men, agitated by those furious passions implanted in their nature, to become beasts of prey to one another, biting and devouring one another. But the beast which is noxious and cursed above all others is the serpent, in which we have the most perfect representation of the devil himself, and of all his children, who are called the seed of the serpent. In a place infested with such inhabitants there could be no real comfort; but on the contrary vexation, misery, disappointment, and despair. The evil that prevails among men who live without God renders this world a miserable place.

II. THE CHANGE THAT WAS TO BE WROUGHT UPON IT. The knowledge of Christ engrafted in the hearts of men, soon made them green and fruitful in righteousness, and they abounded in good works, even to the astonishment of their enemies.

III. THE CAUSE OF THIS BLESSED CHANGE. “They shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.” The glory of the natural world is the sun, whose presence it is that makes the day so superior to the night. But above all, the change of the winter into the spring, shows the power and excellency of this marvellous instrument. Therefore Christ, who performs the same things in the kingdom of grace as the sun doth in nature, is all respects the Sun of Righteousness. (W. Jones, M. A.)

The desert blossoming

The desert shall blossom when Christ is in it, as the narcissus, the meadow-saffron, the rose.

1. There is a desert of separation from ordinary means of grace. I may be deprived, in God’s providence, of my Christian surroundings. I may have to travel far from the homeland and

the sound of the Sabbath bells. But Jesus may dwell in my heart by faith. And then the wilderness will be a garden.

2. There is a desert of trial. Perhaps I lose my substance. Perhaps I lose my health. Perhaps I lose my friend, the half of my own soul. How desolating the affliction is! But Jesus can bless me through it. He makes the sweetening tree grow beside Marsh.

3. There is a desert of apparent disaster to the cause of God. The Church has its periods of adversity when all things seem to be against it. But Jesus teaches it to be more serious then, more patient, more devout, stronger in faith, richer in feeling, purer in aim.

4. There is a desert of death. To go out from the world which I know so well into the world which is mysterious and strange—how my heart shrinks from it v But Jesus shows me by His Word and His Spirit and His own experience, that death is the road to glory and the path to fruitfulness and the gate into life. The solitary place shall be glad. (A. Smellie, M. A.)

The rose

According to the old versions and many commentators “the narcissus” or the autumn crocus is the plant intended. (W. Houghton, M. A.)

The rose

The name points to a bulbous plant. (P. Delitzsch, D. D.)

Life out of death

The valley of Chambra, in India, is rich in its fertility and beauty. The cause of all this fertility is a wonderful spring of water which flows from a hillside, and furnishes water for the irrigation of the whole valley, and for the use of the people who live there. Once, says the legend, the valley was without water, and there was desolation everywhere. The plants and trees were all withering, and the people were dying of thirst. The princess of the place took the sorrows of her subjects much to heart. She consulted the oracle to learn how the constant curse of drought could be removed. The oracle said that if the princess of the land would die for the people, abundant water would be given. She hastened to give her life. Her grave was made, and she was buried alive. Then forth from her tomb came a river which flowed down into the valley, restoring all languishing life in field and garden, and sending water to every door for the famishing people to drink. Ever since, the streams have continued to flow from the wonderful spring, carrying their precious benediction to every home. This old heathen legend beautifully illustrates what Christ did. The world was perishing for want of the water of life; Jesus died and was buried, and from His Cross and broken grave poured out the river of the water of life for the quenching of the world s thirst. Its streams run everywhere, and wherever they flow the wilderness has been made to blossom like a garden of roses. Beauty blooms wherever they run. (J. R. Miller, D. D.)

10. PULPIT, “he glory of the Church not temporal greatness, but spiritual perfection

Amid the wealth of metaphor which Isaiah employs to depict the final prosperity, glory, and happiness of the Church, it is remarkable how little use is made of any images drawn from the conditions or circumstances of earthly grandeur. Images of natural beauty are principally employed—the shady forest,

the spreading cedar tree, the rich luxuriance of arable and pasture land, the choice beauty of the most lovely among flowers, the placid lake, the pellucid rill, the gushing fountain. These raise no ideas of earthly greatness or temporal dominion. They point, by what may be called the laws of prophetic language, to two main features of spiritual life, (1) abounding grace granted to the Church freely from above—a supply copious, unlimited, inexhaustible, such that the cry may be confidently raised, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat" (Isa_55:1); and (2) abundant fruit borne by her members in their several stations—fruit of various kinds and of various degrees of excellency, but all "good fruit," spontaneously brought forth from ungrudging hearts, hearts desirous of showing forth their love and gratitude to their Maker and Redeemer. Beyond these two main characteristic features of the Church of the redeemed, we descry further—first, a power of working miracles (verses 5, 6), physical or spiritual, or both; and secondly, a gift of spiritual insight, whereby the redeemed are enabled to penetrate through the dense veil wherewith material things overlay the great realities that are behind them, and to discern through all the "glory and excellency" of the Most High (verse 2). q he redeemed seek for no external dominion—their efforts are, primarily, to walk themselves in "the way of holiness", (verse 8); secondarily, to "strengthen the weak hands and confirm the feeble knees' of their brethren (verse 3); and, finally, to realize to themselves, by continual meditation and study of his works, the goodness and greatness, the "glory and excellency," of their Lord and God.

HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON

Isa_35:1-10

Glories of the Messianic age.

This is a picture of the happy and glorious condition of Israel after the return from Captivity. Nature is beheld rejoicing with man; and the whole scene is suffused with the light of a universal spiritual joy. I. THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE NATURAL WORLD. The desert will rejoice "like the narcissus," the beautiful white flower found in abundance in spring-time in the Plain of Sharon. A ringing musical cry shall break out from those solitudes. The beauty of the most favored spots, of Carmel and Sharon, shall be diffused over the whole. In poetic pathos a feeling is lent to nature, which does not really exist in her. There is a deep truth, not of the reason, but of the heart, in this mood. Inanimate Nature is incapable either of joy or of sorrow, of exultation or depression. This our reason tells us. But we are all something more than cold rationalists in this matter. We take back from Nature impressions which we have first lent to her, and suppose we have borrowed them. This has been called the "pathetic fallacy," and there is a truth in the fallacy better than that of syllogistic reasoning. To the lover Nature looks love, and whispers of love; to the desponding temper her expression is a frown, her tones are inspirations of lament; she wears a nuptial robe for the happy bridegroom, and a pall for the mourner; silent and morose to the eyes of him who is cast down in the sense of Divine wrath, it breaks forth into jubilant song for the ears of him whose heart overflows with the sense of the redeeming mercy of God. "There is not the least flower but seems to hold up its head, and look pleasantly, in the secret sense of the goodness of its heavenly Maker. This silent rhetoric, though we cannot hear, but only see it, {s so full and expressive, that David thought he spoke neither impropriety nor nonsense, in a strong line, when he said,' even the valleys break forth into singing.'" It is a song of praise and thanksgiving, a song of joy and triumph in the "glory of Jehovah," the manifestations of his creative and renewing powers, the liberal effusions of his goodness, even upon the lowest parts of the creation. II. THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE HUMAN WORLD.

1. Weakness made strong—under the figure of the nerving up of languid hands and of tottering knees. Languor, dullness, the privation of power, are symptomatic of the absence of vital energy, alike in the physical and the moral sphere. People may be seemingly weak and impotent, not because they want the organs for action, but because the inspiration to action is wanting. A life without defined activity is hardly worth the name. In the fixed light of the eye, the prompt hand, the willing foot, we see signs of the Divine afflatus upon a man. The sails have caught the favoring breeze, while others lie becalmed. But there is always some part for the will. To him that hath shall be given; and the paradox is true, power comes to those who exert it. 2. Despair exchanged for confidence. Despair unfits alike for human and Divine service. Men are moved to duty by the hope of good or by the fear of evil. These motives cannot avail one who does not believe that his state can be either bettered or worsened. The man becomes careless of his happiness, indifferent to salvation. The biblical medicine for despair is the firm insistence on the message of salvation. God is coming—is on the way, to requite, to redeem, to deliver. How careful should preachers be not to force men into a "preternatural melancholy," by an unskillful handling of the Word of truth, by indiscreet severity, by dwelling too much on the dark themes of human depravity and predestination! 3. The removal of human infirmities and limitations. Blindness, deafness, lameness, dumbness, are symbolic of all obstructions in the soul to the entrance of light, and music, and power, and fluency. One great outflow of the Spirit sweeps all these hindrances to enjoyment and to activity away. Near to us is a God of infinite fullness; all about us is a world of beauty, strength, and joy; but we are "straitened in ourselves." Life is full of illusions, which tempt us forward with all the power and promise of reality. These are like the mirage of the desert—a seeming sheet of water in the distance, with its offer of refreshment to the pilgrim; in fact, an optical deception. But these illusions bear a certain relation to truth. For we cannot believe that the Almighty has planted a spring of error in the very mechanism of our fancy. Our minds were made for truth and tend towards truth, even through hallucinations. "The mirage shall become a lake." III. THE REFORMATION OF RELIGION. There will be a "raised way," called "The Holy Way." It will be exempt from all that is unclean; it will be so clear and straight, that even the simple-minded cannot go astray; a secure and peaceful way, undisturbed by the furious beasts of ravening and destruction. Its every stage will be marked with joy, as singing pilgrims pass along it; and the sighs of sorrow will die away in the distance. It is a picture of true evangelical religion, as it is revived among the peoples, from epoch to epoch, and of its blessed effects. True religion is an elevating thing; nobility of manner and refinement of taste go hand-in-hand with it. It is a holy thing; and distinction of characters and classes, of tastes and pursuits, must appear wherever it comes. Its doctrine is simple, intelligible, yet sublime. "Justification by faith" can be understood and received by the humblest mind, while the most powerful intellect must exert itself to rise to the serene height of the truth. It is a way of gentleness and peace, unvexed by the furious storms of controversy, sheltering timid souls. It is a way of freedom and of joy, and it leads to a fixed destination—a celestial place, an eternal kingdom, a city that cannot be removed, whose Builder and Maker is God.—J.

2 it will burst into bloom;

it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.

The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,

the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;

they will see the glory of the Lord,

the splendor of our God.

1.BARNES, “It shall blossom abundantly - Hebrew, ‘Blossoming it shall blossom’ - a common mode of expression in Hebrew, denoting certainty, abundance, fullness - similar to the expression Gen_2:17, ‘Dying thou shalt die,’ that is, thou shalt surely die. The sense here is, it shall blossom in abundance.

And rejoice even with joy - Strong figurative language, denoting the greatness of the blessings; as great as if in the waste wilderness there should be heard the voice of joy and rejoicing. The Septuagint renders this: ‘The deserts of Jordan also bloom and rejoice;’ and Jerome applies this to the preaching of John in the wilderness adjacent to Jordan. The

Septuagint evidently read ירדן yarede1n instead of the Hebrew ירנן yeranne1n. Lowth has followed this, and rendered it, ‘The well-watered plain of Jordan shall rejoice,’ but without any authority from Hebrew manuscripts for the change.

The glory of Lebanon - The glory or ornament of Lebanon was its cedars (see the note at Isa_10:34). The sense here is, that the change would be as great under the blessings of the Messiah’s reign as if there should be suddenly transferred to the waste wilderness the majesty and glory of mount Lebanon.

The excellency of Carmel - Carmel was emblematic of beauty, as Lebanon was of majesty, and as Sharon was of fertility. For a description of Carmel, see the note at Isa_29:17; of Sharon, see the note at Isa_33:9. The sense is clear. The blessings of the times of the Messiah would be as great, compared with what had existed before, as if the desert were made as lovely as Carmel, and as fertile as Sharon. The world that, in regard to comfort, intelligence, and piety, might be cormpared to a pathless desert, would be like the beauty of Carmel and the fertility of Sharon.

They shall see the glory of the Lord - As manifested under the Messiah.

2. CLARKE, “Rejoice even with joy and singing “The well-watered plain of

Jordan shall also rejoice” - For ורנן veranen, the Septuagint read ירדן yarden, τα<ερηνα<του<Ιορ

δανου, “the deserts of Jordan.” Four MSS. read גלת gulath; see Jos_15:19 : “Irrigua Jordani;”

Houbigant. גידת gidoth, Ripae Jordani, “the banks of Jordan;” Kennicott. See De S. Poesi Hebr.

Praelect. 20 note.

Unto it - For לה lah, to it, nine MSS. of Kennicott’s and four of De Rossi’s read לך lecha, to thee. See ibid.

3. GILL, “It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing,.... A redundancy of words, to express the very flourishing estate of the church, and the great joy there shall be on that occasion, as well as because of the destruction of their enemies, and deliverance from them: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it; a mountain in Judea, famous for its choice and tall cedars, which were the glory of it; signifying hereby, that the church of God, which had been in a desolate condition, should abound with choice and excellent Christians, comparable to the cedars of Lebanon. Jarchi interprets it of the sanctuary or temple; which may be so called, because built of the wood of Lebanon. This was an emblem and type of the Gospel church; and the glory of it lay not only in its outward form and building, but in those things which were in the holy places of it, especially the most holy, which were all typical of spiritual things in Gospel times; so that all the glory of the Jewish church state and temple is brought into the Gentile church, into the Christian or Gospel church state; and which will still more appear in the latter day, when the temple of God will be opened in heaven, and the ark of the testament; see Rev_11:19, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon; two places in the land of Judea, famous for fruitfulness and pasturage; and so denote the very great fruitfulness of the Gospel church; the word and ordinances of which are as green pastures for the sheep of Christ to feed upon, and by which they become fat and flourishing: they shall see the glory of our Lord, and the excellency of our God; the Targum introduces this clause thus, "the house of Israel, to whom these things are said, they shall see,'' &c.; but not Israel in a literal sense is here meant, but the Gentile church, formerly in the wilderness; or, however, converted persons, be they Jews or Gentiles, in the latter day, who shall see the glory of divine power, in the destruction of their enemies; and the excellency and beauty of divine grace, in the blessings of it bestowed upon them; they shall see the glory of the Lord, which shall then be risen upon them, Isa_60:1 the Lord our God is the Lord Jesus Christ, who is Lord and God; the glory and excellency of whose person and offices, and of his righteousness and salvation, is seen in the Gospel, by those whose eyes are enlightened by the Spirit of God; and will be more clearly discerned, when there will be a greater effusion of the Spirit, as a spirit, of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; and to this sight of the glory and excellency of Christ, the joy and fruitfulness of the church will be greatly owing. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "my people shall see", &c.

4. HENRY, “The glory of God shining forth: They shall see the glory of the Lord. God will manifest himself more than ever in his grace and love to mankind (for that is his glory and excellency), and he shall give them eyes to see it, and hearts to be duly affected with it. This is that which will make the desert blossom. The more we see by faith of the glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God the more joyful and the more fruitful shall we be.

5. JAMISON, “glory of Lebanon — its ornament, namely, its cedars (Isa_10:34).

excellency of Carmel — namely, its beauty.

Sharon — famed for its fertility.

see ... glory of the Lord ... excellency — (Isa_40:5, Isa_40:9). While the wilderness which had neither “glory” nor “excellency” shall have both “given to it,” the Lord shall have all the “glory” and “excellency” ascribed to Him, not to the transformed wilderness (Mat_5:16).

6. MEYER, “THE REJOICING OF THE REDEEMED

Isa_35:1-10

God’s judgments change Carmel and Sharon into a waste; but His blessing makes the wilderness and parched land as Carmel and Sharon. Where the smile of God rests, deserts sing and become carpeted with flowers. Your hands may be weak and your knees feeble, but when your helplessness invokes the help of God, He will begin to perform wonderful things that pass expectation. Say over and over to yourself: “My God will come: be strong, my heart, and fear not. He will come and save.” Oh, for the quickened sense; the bounding leap of our nature lamed by the fall; the songs from lips that God will touch! Your dreariest desert shall become water-springs; the mirage shall no longer disappoint; thirst shall be satisfied; and the dragons of the heart extirpated. Nothing can hurt us while we walk with God in holiness. Dreaded evils may threaten to cast their shadows on our path, but they shall not stay our songs as we come with singing unto the everlasting joy.

For Review Questions, see the e-Sword Book Comments.

7. CALVIN, “2.Flourishing it shall flourish. He describes more fully how great, will be the effect of the

grace of Christ, by whose power and might those places which had been overgrown with filthy and

noxious weeds “” exceedingly and regain their vigor. This repetition is used for the sake of amplification.

The doubling of the word “” may be taken in two senses; either to denote the prolongation of time in

incessant vegetation; as if he had said, “ shall not flourish with a passing or fading blossom, so as to

return immediately to the foul condition in which it once was, but with a continual, uninterrupted, and long-

continued bloom, which can never fade or pass away;” or to denote the increase and daily or yearly

progress of improvement; for Christ enriches us in such a manner as to increase his grace in us from day

to day.

The glory of Lebanon, the beauty of Carmel and Sharon. These metaphors display more fully the fertility

already described; for the Prophet is not satisfied with saying that where formerly there was a gloomy

wilderness smiling fields will be seen, and that dry places will be clothed with the beauty of flowers, but

adds that there will be such luxuriant beauty as “ Carmel, and Sharon” were celebrated for possessing.

Though Carmel denotes a cultivated and fertile field, yet here it is a proper name, like the other two. We

have seen in other passages (22) that these mountains were highly celebrated, and throughout the whole

of Judea held the undisputed preeminence both for delightfulness and for abundance of fruits.

They shall see the glory of Jehovah. What he had formerly spoken metaphorically he now explains clearly

and without a figure. Till men learn to know God, they are barren and destitute of everything good; and

consequently the beginning of our fertility is to be quickened by the presence of God, which cannot be

without the inward perception of faith. The Prophet undoubtedly intended to raise our minds higher, that

we may contemplate the abundance and copiousness of heavenly benefits; for men might be satisfied

with bread and wine and other things of the same kind, and yet not acknowledge God to be the author of

them, or cease to be wretched; and indeed men are often blinded and rendered more fierce by enjoying

abundance. But when God makes himself visible to us, by causing us to behold his glory and beauty, we

not only possess his blessings, but have the true enjoyment of them for salvation.

(22) [unclear Commentary on Isaiah, ] [unclear vol 2, pp. 330 ] [unclear and ] [unclear 420 ].

8. COFFMAN, “No such transformation of the desert between Babylon and Jerusalem is recorded as having taken place on the return of the remnant; and therefore we must see in these words a prophecy of a spiritual transformation that would take place at some future occasion afterward from the times of Isaiah. What was it? As Barnes explained it:

"The sense here (Isaiah 35:1,2) is that the desolate moral world would be filled with joy on account of the blessings which are here predicted ... and that the change would be so great under the blessings of the Messiah's reign, as if there should be suddenly transferred to the waste wilderness (the desert) the majesty and glory of mount Lebanon ... and that the blessings of the times of Messiah would be as great, as if the desert were made as lovely as Carmel, and as fertile as Sharon."[1]

Archer understood that blossoming and singing desert to symbolize, "The inward changes that take place in the redeemed";[2] and that certainly makes sense. As the sense of this chapter begins to appear, we may easily understand why Lowth complained that, "It is not easy to discover what connection the extremely flourishing state of the church or people of God described in Isaiah 35 could have with those events (of Isaiah 34)."[3] We will go much further and declare that, in fact, there is hardly any connection at all, except the resulting dramatic contrast between, "The future of the unrepentant, God-defying world and the future of the people of God."[4] There is also one other connection. The final glory of the Church will come after the execution of the final judgment; and since it is the final judgment that appears in Isaiah 34, it was most logical that the joy of the saints of God should immediately appear, as indeed they do, right here in Isaiah 35. However, the element of cause and effect is not in the two chapters, but only the element of their near simultaneous timing.

As indication of the many differences of scholars regarding these verses, take that word rendered "rose" (Isaiah 35:1) in our version. Peake gave it as, "the autumn crocus, "or "the narcissus." "The Septuagint (LXX) renders it `Lily,' the Vulgate gives us `Lilium' (the same thing); and the Syriac version translates it `the meadow-saffron.'"[5]

Of course, anyone can see that the exact identity of the flower in this passage is of little, if any, importance.

Rawlinson, as we see it, properly identified this whole chapter as a prophecy of, "The glory of the last times,"[6] and Hailey explained the reasons for doing so, as follows:

"The wilderness through which the redeemed came singing to Zion is not the road from Babylon to Judah, but the spiritual desert which led them into the captivity ... Afterward came the Medo-Persian role and oppression, then Alexander whose role was totally void of spiritual values ... then the Ptolemies, the Syrian Seleucids, the Maccabean wars ... and the Pharisees and Sadducees, religious rulers who corrupted the spiritual life of the nation ... and after them the Romans. It is obvious that the glorious

picture in Isaiah 35 was certainly not realized at any time during the period between Babylon and the coming of Jesus Christ. Only a messianic interpretation of the chapter fits the text."[7]

3 Strengthen the feeble hands,

steady the knees that give way;

1.BARNES, “Strengthen ye - That is, you who are the religious teachers and guides of the people. This is an address made by the prophet in view of what he had said and was about to say of the proraised blessings. The sense is, strengthen and sustain the feeble and the desponding by the promised blessings; by the assurances Isa. 34 that all the enemies of God and his people will be destroyed; and that he will manifest himself as their Protector, and send upon them the promised blessings. Or it may be regarded as addressed to the officers and ministers of religion when these blessings should have come; and as being an exhortation to them to make use of the influences, the promises, and the consolations which would attend the coming of the Messiah, to strengthen the feeble, and confirm those who were faint-hearted.

The weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees - Strength resides mainly in the arms, and in the lower limbs, or the knees. If these are feeble, the whole frame is feeble. Fear relaxes the strength of the arms, and the firmness of the knees; and the expressions ‘weak hands,’ and ‘feeble knees,’ become synonymous with saying, of a timid, fearful, and desponding frame of mind. Such were to be strengthened by the assurance of the favor of God, and by the consolations which would flow from the reign of the Messiah. The Jews, who looked abroad upon the desolations of their country, were to be comforted by the hope of future blessings; those who lived in those future times were to be consoled by the assurances of the favor of God through the Messiah (compare the notes at Isa_40:1).

2. COFFMAN, “As Payne wrote, "`Vengeance' today has a negative and unproductive ring about it; but vengeance and recompense belong together. The world cannot be put to rights and the era of peace be brought in without both the banishment and punishment of the wicked, and also the blessing of the `ransomed of the Lord.'"[8]

Certainly, the admonition here for the strong to aid and strengthen the weak and fearful has an application to every age of God's people, whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament. New Testament admonitions on this subject are: 1 Corinthians 3:1; Galatians 6:1; Hebrews 5:12-14; and Romans 15:1. That these verses also had a direct application to the Jews of Isaiah's day is certain; for they apply to every age of God's people.

The big thing that is promised in this passage is, "Your God will come ... and save you." "This is nothing less than an announcement of the Incarnation!"[9] Efforts of some to apply these words in any manner whatever to the Jewish return from captivity were described by the same author as "most

inadequate."[10]Barnes denied that the words here have any other explanation than as a reference to the Father; but it was not "The Father," but "The Son" who actually "visited" us from on high and brought redemption to fallen man.

3. GILL, “Strengthen ye the weak hands,.... These are the words of the prophet, as the Targum, "the prophet said, strengthen the weak hands;'' or rather of God, by the prophet, to the converted Gentiles, to those who saw the glory of the Lord; particularly to the ministers of the Gospel, who have to do with weak and feeble persons, who can scarcely lift up their hands, or stand upon their legs, under a sense of sin, in a view of wrath, and immediate ruin and destruction, ready to sink and faint, because of their enemies, or through want of food; and their business is to comfort and strengthen them, by preaching the Gospel, and pointing out the promises of it to them: and confirm the feeble knees; that so they may keep their ground against their enemies; shake off their fears and trembling; go on their way courageously and rejoicing; run, and not be weary; walk, and not faint: "hands" and "knees" are mentioned particularly, because a man's strength lies greatly in them; and his weakness is seen by the languor and trembling of them.

4. HENRY, “The feeble and faint-hearted encouraged, Isa_35:3, Isa_35:4. God's prophets and ministers are in a special manner charged, by virtue of their office, to strengthen the weak hands, to comfort those who could not yet recover the fright they had been put into by the Assyrian army with an assurance that God would now return in mercy to them. This is the design of the gospel, 1. To strengthen those that are weak and to confirm them - the weak hands, which are unable either to work or fight, and can hardly be lifted up in prayer, and the feeble knees, which are unable either to stand or walk and unfit for the race set before us. The gospel furnishes us with strengthening considerations, and shows us where strength is laid up for us. Among true Christians there are many that have weak hands and feeble knees, that are yet but babes in Christ; but it is our duty to strengthen our brethren (Luk_22:32), not only to bear with the weak, but to do what we can to confirm them, Rom_15:1; 1Th_5:14. It is our duty also to strengthen ourselves, to lift up the hands which hang down (Heb_12:12), improving the strength God has given us, and exerting it. 2. To animate those that are timorous and discouraged: Say to those that are of a fearful heart, because of their own weakness and the strength of their enemies, that are hasty (so the word is), that are for betaking themselves to flight upon the first alarm, and giving up the cause, that say, in their haste, “We are cut off and undone” (Psa_31:22), there is enough in the gospel to silence these fears; it says to them, and let them say it to themselves and one to another, Be strong, fear not. Fear is weakening; the more we strive against it the stronger we are both for doing and suffering; and, for our encouragement to strive, he that says to us, Be strong has laid help for us upon one that is mighty.

IV. Assurance given of the approach of a Saviour: “Your God will come with vengeance. God will appear for you against your enemies, will recompense both their injuries and your losses.” The Messiah will come, in the fulness of time, to take vengeance on the powers of darkness, to spoil them, and make a show of them openly, to recompense those that mourn in Zion with abundant comforts. He will come and save us. With the hopes of this the Old Testament saints strengthened their weak hands. He will come again at the end of time, will come in flaming fire, to recompense tribulation to those who have troubled his people, and, to those who were

troubled, rest, such a rest as will be not only a final period to, but a full reward of, all their troubles, 2Th_1:6, 2Th_1:7. Those whose hearts tremble for the ark of God, and who are under a concern for his church in the world, may silence their fears with this, God will take the work into his own hands. Your God will come, who pleads your cause and owns your interest, even God himself, who is God alone.

5. JAMISON, “Strengthen ... hands ... confirm ... knees — The Hebrew for “strengthen” refers to the strength residing in the hand for grasping and holding a thing manfully; “confirm,” to the firmness with which one keeps his ground, so as not to be dislodged by any other [Maurer]. Encourage the Jews, now desponding, by the assurance of the blessings promised.

6. K&D, “The prophet now exclaims to the afflicted church, in language of unmixed consolation, that Jehovah is coming. “Strengthen ye the weak hands, and make the trembling knees strong! Say to those of a terrified heart, Be strong! Fear ye not! Behold, your God will come for vengeance, for a divine retribution: He will come, and bring you salvation.” Those who have become weak in faith, hopeless and despairing, are to cheer up; and the stronger are to tell such of their brethren as are perplexed and timid, to be comforted now: for Jehovah is

coming na�qa�m (i.e., as vengeance), and gemu1l 'Elo1hım (i.e., as retribution, such as God the highly

exalted and Almighty Judge inflicts; the expression is similar to that in Isa_30:27; Isa_13:9, cf., Isa_40:10, but a bolder one; the words in apposition stand as abbreviations of final clauses). The infliction of punishment is the immediate object of His coming, but the ultimate object is

the salvation of His people (וישעכם a contracted future form, which is generally confined to the

aorist).

7. CALVIN, “3.Strengthen ye the weak hands. We might explain this passage generally, as if he had

said, “ those who have feeble hands strengthen them, let; them whose knees tremble and totter compose

and invigorate their hearts.” But the following verse shews that the whole of this passage relates to the

ministers of the word; for he addresses the teachers of the Church, and enjoins them to exhort, arouse,

and encourage weak men whose hearts are broken or east down, that they may be rendered more firm

and cheerful. This exhortation is seasonably introduced, because he saw that so many tokens of God’

anger, of which he had spoken, could not do otherwise than fill even the strongest minds with alarm and

dread; for, seeing that we are always enfeebled by adversity, when God himself proclaims what may be

called open war against us on account of our sins, who would not tremble? But the Prophet commands

that they who are cast down and almost lifeless shall be enlivened, and the manner of doing it is

explained by him in the following verse.

8. PULPIT, “Inspirations to energy.

"Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees." It is not enough to be sorry for the woes

of others. Sympathy may be a sort of mental "minor," wherewith we simply soothe ourselves. We must be

earnest and inspirational. Pity must be practical. "Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand!" We

have plenty of critics and satirists; we want men who will help to save.

I. WE MAY STRENGTHEN BY OUR WORDS. "Say to them that are of a fearful heart, be strong, fear

not." Tell a sorrow to some persons, and they draw a picture of still darker possibilities, and so feed the

already gloomy fancies of the mind. But it is possible to give "cheer," instead—to record God's great

deliverances to ourselves, and tell of all his wondrous works. Thus we may put the brightness of hope into

the sky, and help to chase the dark clouds away. "Say." We have all the faculty of quickly telling bad

news; let us tell the "good news" of God's gracious kingdom.

II. WE CAN CHEER THE HEART. That is the center of life. We may not be able to lift the burden, but we

may strengthen our brother's hands by energizing his heart. It is wonderful what a few depressing

influences will accomplish. Some are more sensitive than others, and are easily cast down. "Do not my

words do good?" says God; for they reach at once to the inner man. Blessed angels of help are words

that go to the heart. No man is so great but sympathy can cheer him; no man is so weak but he may be

made heroic by holy inspirations!

III. WE CAN HELP THE PILGRIMAGE. The knees are feeble; for it is a "tiring" journey to many. They are

very weary. Disappointments have multiplied; fountains have dried up in the desert; friends have died,

and, like Naomi, they went out full, and are returning home empty. We are all pilgrims; and the

statesman's steps often tire as well as the poor student seeking after his first ideal. In the spiritual

pilgrimage, too, we often faint and fail. The way is hard. We are disappointed with ourselves. It may be

that some soul was just turning back when we strengthened the feeble knees by our own eager pressing

forward, even when tired and faint. How much thus depends on our own Christ-like disposition! We

cannot do all this if we are insolent, quarrelsome, or hard. The very duties the gospel enjoins manifest

what a lofty ideal of character the gospel requires.—W.M.S.

4 say to those with fearful hearts,

“Be strong, do not fear;

your God will come,

he will come with vengeance;

with divine retribution

he will come to save you.”

1.BARNES, “Say to them - This is still an address to the ministers of religion, to make use of all the consolations which these truths and predictions furnish to confirm and strengthen the people of God.

Of a fearful heart - Of a timid, pusillanimous heart; those who tremble before their enemies. The Hebrew is, as in the Margin, ‘Of a hasty heart;’ that is, of those who are disposed to flee before their enemies (see the note at Isa_30:16).

Behold, your God will come with vengeance - That is, in the manner described in the previous chapter; and, generally, he will take vengeance on all the enemies of his people, and they shall be punished. The language in this chapter is, in part, derived from the captivity at Babylon Isa_35:10, and the general idea is, that God would take vengeance on all their enemies, and would bring them complete and final deliverance. This does not mean that when the Messiah should come he would be disposed to take vengeance; nor do the words ‘your God’ here refer to the Messiah; but it is meant that their God, Yahweh, would certainly come and destroy all their enemies, and prepare the way thus for the coming of the Prince of peace. The general promise is, that however many enemies might attack them, or however much they might fear them, yet that Yahweh would be their protector, and would completely humble and prostrate all their foes. The Hebrew will admit of a somewhat different translation, which I give in accordance with that proposed by Lowth. The sense is not materially varied.

Say ye to the faint-hearted, Be ye strong; fear ye not; behold your God! Vengeance will come; the retribution of God: He himself will come, and will deliver you.

2. CLARKE, “

3. GILL, “Say to them that are of a fearful heart,.... Or, "hasty of heart" (w); are at once for flying from the enemy; "hasty" in drawing black conclusions upon themselves and their state; "inconsiderate" of the promises made unto them; ready to doubt of, and call in question, the performance of the above things, respecting the fruitful and flourishing estate of the church: wherefore it must be said to them, Be strong, fear not; be strong in faith, fear not the enemy, nor doubt of the fulfilment of divine promises, relating to their ruin and your safety: behold, your God will come with vengeance; Christ, who is God in our nature, God manifest in the flesh, and who came by the assumption of human nature; and when he first came, he came with vengeance, and took vengeance on Satan and his works; on him, and his principalities, and powers, whom he spoiled and destroyed, as well as made an end of sin and abolished death; see Isa_61:2 so likewise he came in his kingdom and power, and took vengeance on the Jewish nation, for their disbelief and rejection of him; and which time is expressly called the days of vengeance, Luk_21:22 and at the time of his spiritual coming he will destroy antichrist with the brightness of it, and avenge the blood of his servants, Rev_18:20 and at his personal coming he will take vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not his Gospel, 2Th_1:8 and the words are so expressed as to take in the several times of his coming:

and since he has already come, and taken vengeance in some instances, this may serve to encourage, and perhaps the design of it is to encourage, the faith of God's people, with respect to his future coming, and the end and issue of it: even God with a recompence: or, "the God of recompence" (x); and so the Targum, "the Lord of recompences;'' both to the wicked a just recompence of reward or punishment for their sins, it being just with him to recompense tribulation to them that trouble his people; and to the saints, the time of his spiritual reign being the time, as to destroy them that destroy the earth, so to give a reward to his servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear his name, Rev_11:18, he will come and save you; the end of his first coming was to save his people from sin, the curse and condemnation of the law, from hell, wrath, ruin, and destruction; and the end of his spiritual coming, at the latter day, will be to save his people from their antichristian enemies, from idolatry, superstition, and slavery.

4. HENRY, “

5. JAMISON, “

6. K&D, “

7. CALVIN, “4.Say to them that are faint hearted. That strength of which he spoke is breathed into our

hearts by God through his word, as “ faith alone we stand” (2Co_1:24) and live; and therefore he adds the

promise of grace yet to come.

Behold, your God will come. First, it ought to be observed that God does not wish that his grace should

remain concealed and unknown, but rather that it should be proclaimed and imparted, that they who totter

and tremble may compose and invigorate their hearts. And this is one method by which our hearts may

be cheered amidst heavy distresses; for if we are not supported by the word of the Lord, we must faint

and despair. This, then, is the office assigned to the teachers of the word, to raise up them that are fallen

down, (23) to strengthen the feeble, to upheld the tottering.

We ought also to observe how great is the efficacy of the word in “ the feeble hands and strengthening

the tottering knees;” for if it had not been a powerful instrument in communicating this strength, the

Prophet would never have spoken in this manner; and, indeed, if God struck only our ears by his word,

and did not pierce our hearts, these words would have been spoken in vain. Since, therefore, the Lord

assigns this office to the word, let us know that he also imparts this power to it, that it may not be spoken

in vain, but may inwardly move our hearts, not always indeed or indiscriminately, but where it pleases

God by the secret power of his Spirit to work in this manner. And hence we infer that the same word

makes us disposed to obey him; for otherwise we shall be indolent and stupid; all our senses shall fail,

and we shall not only waver, but shall be altogether stupified by unbelief. We, therefore, need to receive

aid from the Lord, that the removal of our fear and the cure of our weakness may enable us to walk with

agility.

Fear not; behold, your God will come. This warning deeply fixed in our minds will banish slothfulness. As

soon as men perceive that God is near them, they either cease to fear, or at least rise superior to

excessive terror.

“ not anxious,” says Paul, “ the Lord is at hand.” (Phi_4:5.)

On this subject we have spoken largely on other occasions; and the Apostle to the Hebrews appears to

allude to this passage, when, after having charged them not to be wearied and faint-hearted, he quotes

the words of the Prophet. (Heb_12:3.) Yet he directs this discourse to every believer, that they may be

excited to perseveranceand because they have many struggles to maintain, may advance steadfastly in

their journey. Nor is it superfluous that he adds your God; for if we do not know that he is our God, his

approach will produce terror, instead of giving cause of joy. Not the majesty of God, which is fitted to

humble the pride of the flesh, but his grace, which is fitted to comfort the fearful and distressed, is here

exhibited; and, therefore, it is not without reason float he is represented as a guardian, to shield them by

his protection.

If it be objected that he brings terror when he comes to take vengeance, I reply that this vengeance, is

threatened against wicked men and enemies of the Church. To the latter, therefore, he will be a terror, but

to believers he will be a consolation; and accordingly he adds that he will come to save them, because

otherwise it might be objected, “ is it to us if our enemies be punished? What good does it do to us? Must

we take delight in the distresses of enemies?” Thus he expressly declares that it will promote our “” for the

vengeance which God takes on wicked men is connected with the salvation of the godly. In what manner

the godly are delivered from anxiety and dread by the favor of God and by the expectation of his aid, has

been explained at a former passage). (24) (Isa_7:4.) At present it ought to be observed, that God is

prepared and armed with vengeance, that believers may learn to lean on his aid, and not to fancy some

deity unemployed in heaven. Such is also the object of the repetition of the words, “ will come;” because

distrust is not all at once banished from the hearts of men.

The end of the verse may either be rendered, God himself will come with a recompense, or He will come

with the recompense of God; but as the meaning is the same, the reader may make his choice Yet if it be

thought preferable to view אלהים (elohim) as in the genitive case, “ God,” then by “ recompense of God” is

emphatically meant that which belongs peculiarly to God, that believers may be fully convinced that he is

a “” as truly as he is God. (25)

(23) “Fortifler ceux qui sont prests a tomber.” “ support those who are ready to fall.”

(24) Commentary on Isaiah, vol 1, p. 232.

(25) “ shall come. The meaning is the same as if he had said, ‘ will come in vengeance, or as an avenger.’

Again, the retribution of God shall come against your enemies and deliver you.” — Jarchi. “ construction

of the second clause is greatly perplexed by making אלהים (elohim) the subject of יבוא (yabo.) The true

construction as given by Junius, Cocceius, Vitringa, and most later writers, makes behold your God an

exclamation, and vengeance the subject of the verb.” — Alexander.

5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened

and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

1.BARNES, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened - The images in this verse and the following are those of joy and exultation. They describe the times of happiness when God would come to save them from their foes. This passage is so accurate a description of what the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, did, that it doubtless refers to the miracles which he would perform. In not a few instances did he in fact restore the blind to sight, giving thus the most unequivocal proof that he was the Messiah sent from God Mat_9:27; Mat_20:30; Mar_8:23; Mar_10:46; Luk_7:21. It is a full confirmation of the opinion that this passage refers to Christ, that the Saviour himself appeals to the fact that he restored the blind to sight, as demonstration that he was the Messiah, implying that it was predicted that this would be a part of his appropriate work (Mat_11:5; compare Luk_4:18).

And the ears of the deaf be unstopped - Another demonstration of divine power, and another proof that would be furnished that the Messiah was from God The Lord Jesus often gave this demonstration that he was invested with divine power Mat_11:5; Mar_7:32, Mar_7:37; Mar_9:25.

2. COFFMAN, “Again, we point out that the great promise in Isaiah 35:4 is, "Behold, your God will come ... and save you." Very well, the people who heard that would wish to know, above everything else, WHEN will it happen?Isaiah 35:5 answers the question. Look at the first word in Isaiah 35:5 and Isaiah 35:6. "THEN," that is, when the "eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the death unstopped." "When? .... Then," "When the lame man shall leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing!" And when?, pray tell, is that? It is, of course, in the times of the Messiah, for there is not a more Messianic message in the entire Bible than these two verses right here. Commentators of every shade of conviction are unanimous:

"Lowth declared that, "The miraculous works wrought by our blessed Saviour are so clearly specified here (Isaiah 35:5,6) that we cannot avoid making the application. And our Saviour himself has moreover plainly referred to this passage as speaking of him and his works inMatthew 11:4,5".[11] This passage is so accurate a description of what the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ did, that it doubtless refers to the miracles which he would perform."

3. GILL, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,.... Which was literally fulfilled in the first coming of Christ, Mat_9:27, Joh_9:1 and spiritually, both among Jews and Gentiles; especially the latter, under the ministry of the apostles, when those who were blind as to spiritual things had no knowledge of God in Christ; nor of the way of salvation by him; nor of the plague of their own hearts; nor of the work of the Spirit of God upon the soul; nor of the truths of the Gospel; through the power of divine grace had the eyes of their understanding opened, so as to see their sinfulness and vileness; their emptiness of all that is good, and their impotency to do anything that is spiritual; their want of righteousness; their need of Christ, and the fulness and suitableness of him as a Saviour; and to have some light into the truths of the Gospel, and a

glimpse of heaven and eternal glory: and this will still have a greater accomplishment in the latter day, when the blind Jews are converted, and the fulness of the Gentiles brought in: and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped; which was literally true of some when Christ came in the flesh, Mat_11:5 and spiritually of many who had not ears to hear in a spiritual sense; stopped what ears they had to the charming voice of the Gospel; and, though they might externally hear, did not understand it: yet these having ears given them to hear, and their ears and hearts opened by the Spirit of God, heard the Gospel spiritually, profitably, pleasantly, comfortably, and with wonder and astonishment; and a multitude of such instances there will be in the latter day glory. Jarchi interprets it of such who were blind as to the knowledge of the fear of God, and deaf to the voice of the prophets.

4. HENRY, ““Then, when your God shall come, even Christ, to set up his kingdom in the world, to which all the prophets bore witness, especially towards the conclusion of their prophecies of the temporal deliverances of the church, and this evangelical prophet especially - then look for great things.”

I. Wonders shall be wrought in the kingdoms both of nature and grace, wonders of mercy

wrought upon the children of men, sufficient to evince that it is no less than a God that comes to

us. 1. Wonders shall be wrought on men's bodies (Isa_35:5, Isa_35:6): The eyes of the blind shall be opened; this was often done by our Lord Jesus when he was here upon earth, with a word's speaking, and one he gave sight to that was born blind, Mat_9:27; Mat_12:22;

Mat_20:30; Joh_9:6. By his power the ears of the deaf also were unstopped, with one word.

Ephphatha - Be opened, Mar_7:34. Many that were lame had the use of their limbs restored so

perfectly that they could not only go, but leap, and with so much joy to them that they could not

forbear leaping for joy, as that impotent man, Act_3:8. The dumb also were enabled to speak,

and then no marvel that they were disposed to sing for joy, Mat_9:32, Mat_9:33. These miracles

Christ wrought to prove that he was sent of God (Joh_3:2), nay, working them by his own power

and in his own name, he proved that he was God, the same who at first made man's mouth, the

hearing ear, and the seeing eye. When he would prove to John's disciples his divine mission he

did it by miracles of this kind, in which this scripture was fulfilled. 2. Wonders, greater wonders,

shall be wrought on men's souls. By the word and Spirit of Christ those that were spiritually

blind were enlightened (Act_26:18), those that were deaf to the calls of God were made to hear

them readily, so Lydia, whose heart the Lord opened, so that she attended, Act_16:14. Those that were impotent to every thing that is good by divine grace are made, not only able for it, but

active in it, and run the way of God's commandments. Those also that were dumb, and knew not

how to speak of God or to God, having their understandings opened to know him, shall thereby

have their lips opened to show forth his praise. The tongue of the dumb shall sing for joy, the joy

of God's salvation. Praise shall be perfected out of the mouth of babes and sucklings.

5. JAMISON, “Language figuratively, descriptive of the joy felt at the deliverance from Assyria and Babylon; literally, true of the antitypical times of Messiah and His miracles (see Margin references, Mat_11:5; Luk_7:2; 2Jo_1:5, 2Jo_1:8; Act_3:2).

6. K&D, ““Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame man leap as the stag, and the tongue of the dumb man shout; for waters

break out in the desert, and brooks in the steppe. And the mirage becomes a fish-pond, and the thirsty ground gushing water-springs; in the place of jackals, where it lies, there springs up grass with reeds and rushes.” The bodily defects mentioned here there is no reason for regarding as figurative representations of spiritual defects. The healing of bodily defects, however, is merely the outer side of what is actually effected by the coming of Jehovah (for the other side, comp. Isa_32:3-4). And so, also, the change of the desert into a field abounding with water is not a mere poetical ornament; for in the last times, he era of redemption, nature itself

will really share in the doxa which proceeds from the manifested God to His redeemed. Sha�ra�b

(Arab. sara�b) is essentially the same thing as that which we call in the western languages the

mirage, or Fata morgana; not indeed every variety of this phenomenon of the refraction of light, through strata of air of varying density lying one above another, but more especially that appearance of water, which is produced as if by magic in the dry, sandy desert

(Note: See. G. Rawlinson, Monarchies, i. p. 38.) (literally perhaps the “desert shine,” just as we speak of the “Alpine glow;” see Isa_49:10). The

antithesis to this is 'a�gam (Chald. 'agma�', Syr. egmo, Ar. agam), a fish-pond (as in Isa_41:18,

different from 'a�ga�m in Isa_19:10). In the arid sandy desert, where the jackal once had her lair

and suckled her young (this is, according to Lam_4:3, the true explanation of the permutative

ribhtsa�h, for which ribhtsa�m would be in some respects more suitable), grass springs up even into

reeds and rushes; so that, as Isa_43:20 affirms, the wild beasts of the desert praise Jehovah.

7. CALVIN, “5.Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened. (26) He continues the promise about the

restoration of the Church, in order to encourage the hearts of the godly, who must have been grievously

dismayed by the frightful calamities which he foretold. Since a true restoration is accomplished by Christ,

we must therefore come to him, if we wish to know the meaning of the words which Isaiah employs in this

passage; and indeed it is only by his kindness that we rise again to the hope of a heavenly life. Isaiah

probably alludes to a former prediction, (Isa_29:10,) in which he threatened against the Jews dreadful

blindness, madness, and total stupefaction of the soul. He now promises that, when Christ shalt shine

forth, those senses of which they were deprived for a time shall be renovated and brightened to a new

life. There is weight in the adverb Then; for we ought to infer from it that, so long as we are alienated from

Christ, we are dumb, blind, and lame, and, in short, that we are destitute of all ability to do what is good,

but that we are renewed by the Spirit of Christ, so as to enjoy real health.

By the tongue and ears and feet he means all the faculties of our soul, which in themselves are so corrupt

that nothing that is good can be obtained from them till they are restored by the kindness of Christ. The

eyes cannot see what is right, and the ears cannot hear, and the feet cannot guide us in the right way, till

we are united to Christ. Though the senses of men are abundantly acute wherever they are impelled by

sinful passions; though the tongue is eloquent for slander, perjury, lying, and every kind of foolish

speaking; though the hands are too ready for thefts, extortions, and cruelty; though the feet are swift to do

injury; and, in short, though the whole of our nature is not only willing but strongly bent on doing what is

evil; yet we are altogether slothful and dull to do what is good, and therefore every part of us must be

created anew by the power of Christ, that it may begin to understand aright, to feel, to speak, and to

perform its offices; for

“ man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Spirit.” (1Co_12:3.)

This renewal proceeds from the grace of Christ alone, and, therefore, sound strength is regained by those

who are converted to Christ, and who formerly were in all respects useless, and resembled dead men;

for, while we are separated from Christ, we either are destitute of everything that is good, or it is so

greatly corrupted in us, that it cannot be applied to its proper use, but on the contrary is polluted by being

abused. Christ gave abundant proofs and examples of this, when he restored speech to the dumb, eyes

to the blind, and perfect strength to the feeble and lame; but what he bestowed on their bodies was only a

token of the far more abundant and excellent blessings which he imparts to our souls.

(26) “ is,” says Jarchi, “ have hitherto been blind so as not to know the reverence (or fear) of me upon

them.” Or, as explained by his annotator Breithaupt, “ have hitherto shaken off the yoke of the fear of

God, and have not manifested the reverence that is due to God.”

8. MACLAREN, “MIRACLES OF HEALING

‘Then’-when? The previous verse answers, ‘Behold, your God will come, He will come and save you.’ And what or when is that ‘coming’? A glance at the place which this grand hymn occupies in the series of Isaiah’s prophecies answers that question. It stands at the close of the first part of these, and is the limit of the prophet’s vision. He has been setting forth the Lord’s judgments upon all heathen, and His deliverance of Israel from its oppressors; and the ‘coming’ is His manifestation for that double purpose. Before its flashing brightness, barrenness is changed into verdure, diseases that lame men’s powers vanish, the dry and thirsty land gleams with the shining light of sudden streams. Across the wilderness stretches a broad path, raised high above the bewildering monotony of pathless sand, too plain to be missed, too lofty for wild beasts’ suppleness to spring upon it: along it troop with song and gladness the returning exiles, with hope in their hearts as they journey to Zion, where they find a joyful home undimmed by sorrow, and in which sighing and sorrow are heard and felt no more.

Now this is poetry, no doubt; the golden light of imagination suffuses it all, but it is poetry with a solid meaning in it. It is not a mere play of fancy exalting the ‘coming of the Lord’ by heaping together all images that suggest the vanishing of evil and the coming of good. If there is a basis of facts in it, what are they? What is the period of that emphatic ‘then’ at the beginning of our text? The return of the Jews from exile? Yes, certainly; but some greater event shines through the words. Some future restoration of that undying race to their own land? Yes, possibly, again we answer, but that does not exhaust the prophecy. The great coming of God to save in the gift of His Son? Yes, that in an eminent degree. The second coming of Christ? Yes, that too. All the events in which God has come for men’s deliverance are shadowed here; for in them all, the same principles are at work, and in all, similar effects have followed. But mainly the mission and work of Jesus Christ is pointed at here-whether in its first stage of Incarnation and Passion, or in its second stage of Coming in glory, ‘the second time without sin, unto salvation.’

And the bodily diseases here enumerated are symbols, just as Christ’s miracles were symbolical, just as every language has used the body as a parable of the soul, and has felt that there is such a harmony between them that the outward and visible does correspond to and shadow the inward and spiritual.

I think, then, that we may fairly take these four promises as bringing out very distinctly the main characteristics of the blessed effects of Christ’s work in the world. The great subject of these words is the power of Christ in restoring to men the spiritual capacities which are all but destroyed. We have here three classes of bodily infirmities represented as cured at the date of

that blessed ‘Then.’ Blindness and deafness are defects in perception, and stand for incapacities affecting the powers of knowledge. Lameness affects powers of motion, and stands for incapacity of activity. Dumbness prevents speech, and stands for incapacity of utterance.

I. Christ as the restorer of the powers of knowing.

Bodily diseases are taken to symbolise spiritual infirmities.

Mark the peculiarities of Scripture anthropology as brought out in this view of humanity:-

Its gloomy views of man’s actual condition.

Its emphatic declaration that that condition is abnormal.

Its confidence of effecting a cure.

Its transcendentally glorious conception of what man may become.

Men are blind and deaf; that is to say, their powers of perception are destroyed by reason of disease. What a picture! The great spiritual realities are all unseen, as Elisha’s young servant was blind to the fiery chariots that girdled the prophet. Men are blind to the starry truths that shine as silver in the firmament. They are deaf to the Voice which is gone out to the ends of the earth, and yet they have eyes and ears, conscience, intuitions. They possess organs, but these are powerless.

And while the blindness is primarily in regard to spiritual and religious truths, it is not confined to these, but wherever spiritual blindness has fallen, the whole of a man’s knowledge will suffer. There will be blindness to the highest philosophy, to the true basis and motive of morals, to true psychology, to the noblest poetry. All will be of the earth, earthy. You cannot strike religion out of men’s thoughts, as you might take a stone out of a wall and leave the wall standing; you take out foundation and mortar, and make a ruinous heap.

I know, of course, that there may be much mental activity without any perception of spiritual realities, but all knowledge which is not purely mathematical or physical suffers by the absence of such perception. All this blindness is caused by sin.

Christ is the giver of spiritual sight. He restores the faculty by taking away the hindrance to its exercise. Further, He gives sight because He gives light.

But turn to facts of experience, and consider the mental apathy of heathenism as contrasted with the energy of mind within the limits of Christendom. Greece, of course, is a brilliant exception, but even there (1) what of the conceptions of God? (2) what of the effect of the wise on the mass of the nation? Think of the languid intellectual life of the East. Think of the energy of thought which has been working within the limits of Christianity. Think of Christian theology compared with the mythologies of idolatry. And the contrast holds not only in the religious field but all over the field of thought.

There is no such sure way of diffusing a culture which will refine and strengthen all the powers of mind as to diffuse the knowledge of Jesus, and to make men love Him. In His light they will see light.

To know Him and to keep company with Him is ‘a liberal education,’ as is seen in many a lowly life, all uninfluenced by what is called learning, but enriched with the finest flowers of ‘culture,’ and having gathered them all in Christ’s garden.

Christ is the true light; in Him do we see. Without Him, what is all other knowledge? He is central to all, like genial heat about the roots of a plant. There is other knowledge than that of sense; and for the highest of all our knowledge we depend on Him who is the Word. In that region we can neither observe nor experiment. In that region facts must be brought by some

other means than we can command, and we can but draw more or less accurate deductions from them. Logic without revelation is like a spinning-machine without any cotton, busy drawing out nothing. Here we have to listen. ‘The entrance of Thy words giveth light.’ Your God shall come and save you; then, by that divine coming and saving, ‘the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.’

II. Christ as the Restorer of the Powers of Action.

Again turn to heathenism, see the apathetic indolence, the unprogressive torpor, ‘Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay.’ Sin lames for service of God; it leaves the lower nature free to act, and that freedom paralyses all noble activity.

Christianity brings the Energising of the Soul-

(a) By its reference of everything to God-our powers and our circumstances and our activities.

(b) By its prominence given to Retribution. It speaks not merely of vita brevis-but of vita brevis and an Eternity which grows out of it.

(c) By its great motive for work-love.

(d) By the freedom It brings from the weight that paralysed.

It takes away sin. Lifting that dreary load from our backs, it makes us joyful, strong, and agile.

The true view of Christianity is not, as some of its friends, and some of its foes, mistakenly concur in supposing, that it weakens interest in, and energy on, the Present, but that it heightens the power of action. A life plunged in that jar of oxygen will glow with redoubled brilliance.

III. Christ as the Restorer of Powers of Utterance.

The silence that broods over the world. It is dumb for all holy, thankful words; with no voice to sing, no utterance of joyful praise.

Think of the effect of Christianity on human speech, giving it new themes, refining words and crowding them with new meanings. Translate the Bible into any language, and that language is elevated and enriched.

Think of the effect on human praise. That great treasure of Christian poetry.

Think of the effect on human gladness. Christ fills the heart with such reasons for praise, and makes life one song of joy.

Thus Christ is the Healer.

To men seeking for knowledge, He offers a higher gift-healing. And as for true knowledge and culture, in Christ, and in Christ alone, will you find it.

Let your culture be rooted in Him. Let your Religion influence all your nature.

The effects of Christianity are its best evidence. What else does the like of that which it does? Let Jannes and Jambres ‘do the same with their enchantments.’ We may answer the question, ‘Art Thou He that should come?’ as Christ did, ‘The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear.’

The perfect Restoration will be in heaven. Then, indeed, when our souls are freed from mortal grossness, and the thin veils of sense are rent and we behold Him as He is, then when they rest not day nor night, but with ever renewed strength run to His commandments, then when He has put into their lips a new song-’then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf be unstopped; then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing.’

Isaiah 35:6-7

MIRAGE OR LAKE

What a picture is painted in these verses! The dreary wilderness stretches before us, monotonous, treeless, in some parts bearing a scanty vegetation which flourishes in early spring and dies before fierce summer heats, but for the most part utterly desolate, the sand blinding the eyes, the ground cracked and gaping as if athirst for the rain that will not fall; over it the tantalising mirage dancing in mockery, and amid the hot sand the yelp of the jackals. What does this dead land want? One thing alone-water. Could that be poured upon it, all would be changed; nothing else will do any good. And it comes. Suddenly it bursts from the sand, and streams bring life along the desert. It gathers into placid lakes, with their whispering reeds and nodding rushes, and the thick cool grass round their margins. The foul beasts that wandered through dry places seeking rest are drowned out. So full of blessed change will be the coming of the Lord, of which all this context speaks. Mark that this burst of waters is when ‘the Lord shall come,’ and that it is the reason for the restoration of lost powers in men, and especially for a chorus of praise from dumb lips. This, then, is the central blessing. It is not merely a joyful transformation, but it is the reason for a yet more joyful transformation (Isa_44:3). Recall Christ’s words to the Samaritan woman and in the Temple on the great day of the Feast.

Then this is pre-eminently a description of the work of Christ.

I. Christ brings the Supernatural Communication of a New Life.

We may fairly regard this metaphor as setting forth the very deepest characteristic of the gospel. Consider man’s need, as typified in the image of the desert. Mark that the supply for that need must come from without; that coming from without, it must be lodged in the heart of the race; that the supernatural communication of a new life and power is the very essence of the work of Christ; that such a communication is the only thing adequate to produce these wondrous effects.

II. This new life slakes men’s thirst.

The pangs and tortures of the waterless wilderness. The thirst of human souls; they long, whether they know it or not, for-

Truth for Understanding.

Love for Heart.

Basis and Guidance for Will and Effort.

Cleansing for Conscience.

Adequate objects for their powers.

They need that all these should be in One.

The gnawing pain of our thirst is not a myth; it is the secret of man’s restlessness. We are ever on the march, not only because change is the law of the world, nor only because effort and progress are the law for civilised men, but because, like caravans in the desert, we have to search for water.

In Christ it is slaked; all is found there.

III. The Communication of this New Life turns Illusions into Realities.

‘The mirage shall become a pool.’ Life without Christ is but a long illusion. ‘Sin makes a mock of fools.’ How seldom are hopes fulfilled, and how still less frequently are they, when fulfilled, as good as we painted them! The prismatic splendours of the rain bow, which gleam before us and which we toil to catch, are but grey rain-drops when caught. Joys attract and, attained, have incompleteness and a tang of bitterness. The fish is never so heavy when landed on the sward as it felt when struggling on our hook. ‘All is vanity’-yes, if creatures and things temporal are pursued as our good. But nothing is vanity, if we have the life in us which Jesus comes to give. His Gospel gives solid, unmingled joys, sure promises which are greater when fulfilled than when longed for, certain hopes whose most brilliant colours are duller than those of the realities. The half has not been told of the ‘things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.’

Sure Promises.

A certain Hope.

IV. This New Life gives Fruitfulness. It stimulates all our nature. A godless life is in a very tragic sense barren, and a wilderness. There is in it nothing really worth doing, nor anything that will last. Christ gives Power, Motive, Pattern, and makes a life of holy activity possible. The works done by men apart from Him are, if measured by the whole relations and capacities of the doers, unfruitful works, however they may seem laden with ruddy clusters. It is only lives into which that river of God which is full of water flows that bring forth fruit, and whose fruit remains. The desert irrigated becomes a garden of the Lord.

Note, too, how this river drowns out wild beasts. The true way of conquering evil is to turn the river into it. Cultivate, and weeds die. The expulsive power of a new affection is the most potent instrument for perfecting character.

What is the use of water if we do not drink? We may perish with thirst even on the river’s bank. ‘If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink.’

6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,

and the mute tongue shout for joy.

Water will gush forth in the wilderness

and streams in the desert.

1.BARNES, “Then shall the lame man leap - This was literally fulfilled after the coming of the Messiah Act_14:10; Act_3:8. It is an emblem of the general joy which the coming of the Messiah would impart, and is an instance of the blessings which it would convey.

As an hart - The word used here denotes the stag, or male deer. In Arabic it denotes the wild, or mountain-goat. The word sometimes refers to any species of deer or antelope, and this is referred to here from its quick and sprightly nature.

And the tongue of the dumb sing - Shall be able to sing, and to praise God. On the restoration of the dumb to the benefits of language, see Mat_9:32-33; Mat_12:22; Mat_15:30-31; Mar_9:17; Luk_11:14.

For in the wilderness shall waters break out - The joy shall be as great, and the blessings as numerous and refreshing, as if running fountains should suddenly break out in the desert, and the thirsty and weary traveler should be thus unexpectedly and fully supplied. The world, in regard to its real comforts without the gospel, may be not unaptly compared to g vast waste of pathless sands and arid plains. Nothing will more strongly express the blessings of the gospel than the idea of cool, refreshing, abundant fountains and streams bursting forth in such pathless wastes. This is an image which would be very expressive to those who were accustomed to cross such deserts, and it is one which is frequently employed by the sacred writers, and especially by Isaiah (see Isa_43:19-20; Isa_48:21; Isa_49:10-11; Isa_55:1; Isa_58:11). ‘Lameness and dumbness are the uniform effects of long walking in a desert; the sand and gravel produce the former, fatigue the latter. In such cases some of us have walked hours together without uttering a sentence; and all walked as if crippled, from the sand and gravel getting into the shoes; but the sight of water, especially if unexpected, unloosed every tongue, and gave agility to every limb; men, oxen, goats, sheep, and dogs, ran with speed and expressions of joy to the refreshing element.’ (Campbell’s Travels in Africa.) The Chaldee Paraphrast understands this as referring entirely to the return from the captivity at Babylon. ‘Then shall they see the exiles of Israel assembled, ascend to their own land as the swift stags, so that they shall not be hindered.’

2. , “

3. GILL, “Then shall the lame man leap as an hart..... As the lame man did healed by Peter, Act_3:1 there were many instances of such persons cured by Christ when here on earth, Mat_15:30 and in a spiritual sense this was verified in many who were impotent to that which is good; had neither will nor power to go to Christ for life and salvation, nor to walk by faith in him, nor to walk in his ways; who yet, by the mighty power of the Spirit and grace of God, became able and willing to go to him, and venture their souls on him; walked on in him as they had received him; and not only walked in his ways, but ran in the ways of his commandments, and leaped for joy for what they saw and heard of him, and received from him; and innumerable will be the instances of such mighty grace at the spiritual coming and reign of Christ: and the tongue of the dumb shall sing; this had its accomplishment, in a literal sense, at the first coming of Christ, Mat_9:32, Mat_12:22 and, in a spiritual sense, in many who before had nothing to say to God in prayer, nor in praise; nothing to say of Christ, or for him; or of the blessed Spirit, and his divine operations; but now, by divine grace, are made to speak unto God, both in a petitionary way, and in a way of thankfulness; and of Christ, and of the blessed Spirit; and of the great things each have done for them; and even to sing for joy, because of the wondrous blessings of grace they were made partakers of; and many more such there will be in the latter day, when the Spirit is poured down from on high. Kimchi interprets all this of the Israelites, who were in captivity as blind, deaf, lame, and dumb. So the Targum of this and the preceding verse Isa_35:5,

"then shall the eyes of the house of Israel be opened, who were as blind men as to the law; and the ears of them that are as deaf men, to attend to the words of the prophets shall hear; then when they shall see the captives of Israel gathered to go up to their own land as the swift harts, and not tarry,'' &c.; but it may be better applied to their present state, and to their case when they shall be turned to the Lord in the latter day: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert; not literally, but mystically; and may be understood both of the doctrines of the Gospel breaking out in the ministry of them, in such places as were like unto the wilderness and desert, quite barren, and destitute of the knowledge, grace, and fear of God; see Joe_3:18 and of the abundance of grace, and the efficacy of it, making the word effectual to the conversion and fruitfulness of multitudes of souls, bringing along with it a vast variety of spiritual blessings; see Joh_7:37 to both which, the one as the means, and the other as the cause, all the above wonderful things are owing.

4. HENRY, “The Spirit shall be poured out from on high. There shall be waters and streams, rivers of living water; when our Saviour spoke of these as the fulfilling of the scripture, and most

probably of this scripture, the evangelist tells us, He spoke of the Spirit (Joh_7:38, Joh_7:39), as does also this prophet (ch. 32:15); so here (Isa_35:6), in the wilderness, where one would least expect it, shall waters break out. This was fulfilled when the Holy Ghost fell upon the Gentiles that heard the word (Act_10:44); then were the fountains of life opened, whence streams flowed, that watered the earth abundantly. These waters are said to break out, which denotes a pleasing surprise to the Gentile world, such as brought them, as it were, into a new

world.

5. JAMISON, “leap — literally, “fulfilled” (Act_3:8; Act_14:10).

sing — joyful thanksgiving.

in ... wilderness ... waters — (Isa_41:18).

6. MACLAREN, “MIRAGE OR LAKE

What a picture is painted in these verses! The dreary wilderness stretches before us, monotonous, treeless, in some parts bearing a scanty vegetation which flourishes in early spring and dies before fierce summer heats, but for the most part utterly desolate, the sand blinding the eyes, the ground cracked and gaping as if athirst for the rain that will not fall; over it the tantalising mirage dancing in mockery, and amid the hot sand the yelp of the jackals. What does this dead land want? One thing alone-water. Could that be poured upon it, all would be changed; nothing else will do any good. And it comes. Suddenly it bursts from the sand, and streams bring life along the desert. It gathers into placid lakes, with their whispering reeds and nodding rushes, and the thick cool grass round their margins. The foul beasts that wandered through dry places seeking rest are drowned out. So full of blessed change will be the coming of the Lord, of which all this context speaks. Mark that this burst of waters is when ‘the Lord shall come,’ and that it is the reason for the restoration of lost powers in men, and especially for a chorus of praise from dumb lips. This, then, is the central blessing. It is not merely a joyful

transformation, but it is the reason for a yet more joyful transformation (Isa_44:3). Recall Christ’s words to the Samaritan woman and in the Temple on the great day of the Feast.

Then this is pre-eminently a description of the work of Christ.

I. Christ brings the Supernatural Communication of a New Life.

We may fairly regard this metaphor as setting forth the very deepest characteristic of the gospel. Consider man’s need, as typified in the image of the desert. Mark that the supply for that need must come from without; that coming from without, it must be lodged in the heart of the race; that the supernatural communication of a new life and power is the very essence of the work of Christ; that such a communication is the only thing adequate to produce these wondrous effects.

II. This new life slakes men’s thirst.

The pangs and tortures of the waterless wilderness. The thirst of human souls; they long, whether they know it or not, for-

Truth for Understanding.

Love for Heart.

Basis and Guidance for Will and Effort.

Cleansing for Conscience.

Adequate objects for their powers.

They need that all these should be in One.

The gnawing pain of our thirst is not a myth; it is the secret of man’s restlessness. We are ever on the march, not only because change is the law of the world, nor only because effort and progress are the law for civilised men, but because, like caravans in the desert, we have to search for water.

In Christ it is slaked; all is found there.

III. The Communication of this New Life turns Illusions into Realities.

‘The mirage shall become a pool.’ Life without Christ is but a long illusion. ‘Sin makes a mock of fools.’ How seldom are hopes fulfilled, and how still less frequently are they, when fulfilled, as good as we painted them! The prismatic splendours of the rain bow, which gleam before us and which we toil to catch, are but grey rain-drops when caught. Joys attract and, attained, have incompleteness and a tang of bitterness. The fish is never so heavy when landed on the sward as it felt when struggling on our hook. ‘All is vanity’-yes, if creatures and things temporal are pursued as our good. But nothing is vanity, if we have the life in us which Jesus comes to give. His Gospel gives solid, unmingled joys, sure promises which are greater when fulfilled than when longed for, certain hopes whose most brilliant colours are duller than those of the realities. The half has not been told of the ‘things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.’

Sure Promises.

A certain Hope.

IV. This New Life gives Fruitfulness. It stimulates all our nature. A godless life is in a very tragic sense barren, and a wilderness. There is in it nothing really worth doing, nor anything that will last. Christ gives Power, Motive, Pattern, and makes a life of holy activity possible. The works done by men apart from Him are, if measured by the whole relations and capacities of the doers, unfruitful works, however they may seem laden with ruddy clusters. It is only lives into which that river of God which is full of water flows that bring forth fruit, and whose fruit remains. The desert irrigated becomes a garden of the Lord.

Note, too, how this river drowns out wild beasts. The true way of conquering evil is to turn the river into it. Cultivate, and weeds die. The expulsive power of a new affection is the most potent instrument for perfecting character.

What is the use of water if we do not drink? We may perish with thirst even on the river’s bank. ‘If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink.’

7. CALVIN, “6.For waters shall be dug. He next adds other blessings with which believers shall be

copiously supplied, as soon as the kingdom of Christ is set up; as if he had said, that there will be no

reason to dread scarcity or want, when we have been reconciled to God through Christ, because perfect

happiness flows to us from him. But he represents this happiness to us under metaphorical expressions;

and, first, he says that “ shall be dug;” because, where formerly all was barren, there the highest fertility

shall be found. Now, we are poor and barren, unless God bless us through Christ; for he alone, brings

with him the blessing of the Father, which he bestows upon us. Wicked men, indeed, have often a great

abundance of good things, but their wealth is wretched; for they have not Christ, from whom alone

proceeds a true and salutary abundance of all blessings. Death unquestionably would be more desirable

than that abundance of wine and of food with which we, at the same time, swallow the curse of God.

When, therefore, Christ shall gloriously arise, rivers and waters shall flow out and yield true and valuable

advantage.

7 The burning sand will become a pool,

the thirsty ground bubbling springs.

In the haunts where jackals once lay,

grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

1.BARNES, “And the parched ground shall become a pool - The idea is the same here as in the previous verse, that under the Messiah there would be blessings as great as if the parched ground’ should become a lake of pure and refreshing water. The words ‘parched ground,’ however, probably do not convey the sense which Isaiah intended. The image which he had in his eye is much more beautiful than that which is denoted by the ‘parched ground.’ Lowth

translates it, ‘The glowing sand.’ The Septuagint, Lνυδρος Anudros - ‘The dry place, The Hebrew

word (שרב sha�ra�b), properly denotes the heat of the sun Isa_49:10; and then the phenomenon

which is produced by the refraction of the rays of the sun on the glowing sands of a desert and which gives the appearance of a sea or lake of water, This phenomenon is witnessed in the deserts of Arabia and Egypt, and has been also seen occasionally in the south of France and in Russia. We have no word in English to express it. The French word by which it is commonly designated is mirage. It is caused by the refraction of the rays of the sun, an explanation of which may be found in the Edin. Encyclopaedia, vol. xiv. pp. 753-755. It is often described by travelers, and is referred to in the Koran, chapter xxiv. 39:

The works of unbelievers are like the serab in a plain, Which the thirsty man takes to be water; Until he comes to it, and finds that it is not.

Mr. Sale’s note on this place in the Koran is, ‘The Arabic word serab signifies that false appearance which in the eastern countries is often seen in sandy plains about noon, resembling a large lake of water in motion, and is occasioned by the reverberation of the sunbeams, “by the quivering undulating motion of that quick succession of vapors and exhalations which are extracted by the powerful influence of the sun” (Shaw’s Travels, p. 378). It sometimes tempts thirsty travelers out of their way, but deceives them when they come near, either going forward (for it always appears at the same distance), or quite vanishes.’ Q. Curtius (vii. 5) also has mentioned it, in the description of the march of Alexander the Great across the Oxus to Sogdiana: ‘The vapor of the summer sun inflamed the sands, which when they began to be inflamed all things seemed to burn. A dense cloud, produced by the unusual heat of the earth, covered the light, and the appearance of the plains was like a vast and deep sea.’ The Arabians often refer to this in their writings, and draw images from it. ‘Like the serab of the plain, which the thirsty take to be water.’ ‘He runs for the spoil of the serab;’ a proverb. ‘Deceitful as the appearance of water;’ also a proverb. ‘Be not deceived by the glimmer of the scrub;’ another proverb. This appearance has been often described by modern travelers, (see Shaw’s Travels, p. 375; Clarke’s Travels, vol ii. p. 295; Belzoni’s Travels and Operations in Egypt and Nubia, p. 196).

The same appearance has been observed in India, and in various parts of Africa. ‘During the French expedition to Egypt, the phenomena of unusual refractions were often seen. The uniformity of the extensive sandy plains of Lower Egypt is interrupted only by small eminences, on which the villages are situated, in order to escape the inundations of the Nile. In the morning and the evening, as many have remarked, objects appear in their natural position; but when the surface of the sandy ground is heated by the sun, the land seems at a certain distance terminated by a general inundation. The villages which are beyond it appear like so many islands situated in the middle of a great lake; and under each village is an inverted image of it. As the observer approaches the limits of the apparent inundation, the imaginary lake which seemed to encircle the village withdraws itself, and the same illusion is reproduced by another village more remote.’ (Edin. Encyclopaedia, vol. xiv. p. 754.) ‘In the desert,’ says Prof. Robinson, ‘we had frequent instances of the mirage presenting the appearance of lakes of water and islands; and as we began to descend toward Suez, it was difficult to distinguish between these appearances and the distant real waters of the Red Sea.’ (Travels in Palestine and the adjacent regions, in 1838, Bib. Repos. April, 1839, p. 402.) Major Skinner, in his recently published Journey Overland to India, describes the appearance of the scrub in that very desert, between Palestine and the Euphrates, which probably supplied the images which the prophet employs: ‘About noon the most perfect deception that can be conceived exhilarated our spirits, and promised an early restingplace.

We had observed a slight mirage two or three times before, but this day it surpassed all I have ever fancied. Although aware that these appearances have often led people astray, I could not bring myself to believe that this was unreal. The Arabs were doubtful, and said that, as we had found water yesterday, it was not improbable that we should find some today. The seeming lake

was broken in several parts by little islands of sand that gave strength to the delusion. The dromedaries of the Sheikhs at length reached its borders, and appeared to us to have commenced to ford as they advanced, and became more surrounded by the vapor. I thought they had got into deep water, and moved with greater caution. In passing over the sand banks their figures were reflected in the water. So convinced was Mr. Calmun of its reality, that he dismounted and walked toward the deepest part of it, which was on the right hand. He followed the deceitful lake for a long time, and to our sight was strolling on the bank, his shadow stretching to a great length beyond. There was not a breath of wind; it was a sultry day, and such an one as would have added dreadfully to our disappointment if we had been at any time without water.’

Southey has beautifully described this appearance and its effects on the traveler:

Still the same burning sun! no cloud in heaven! The hot air quivers, and the sultry mist Floats o’er the desert, with a show Of distant waters mocking their distress.

The idea of the prophet, if he refers to this phenomenon, is exceedingly beautiful. It is that the mirage, which has the appearance Only of a sheet of water, and which often deceives the traveler, shall become a real lake; that there shall be hereafter no deception, no illusion; that man, like a traveler on pathless sands, weary and thirsty, shall no more be deceived by false appearances and unreal hopes. The hopes and promises which this world can furnish are as delusive as is the mirage to the exhausted and thirsty traveler. Man approaches them, and, like that delusive appearance, they recede or vanish. If they are still seen, they are always at I a distance, and he follows the false and deceptive vision until he comes to the end of life. But the promises of God through the Messiah, are like real lakes of water and running streams to the thirsty traveler. They never deceive, never recede, never vanish, never are unsatisfactory. Man may approach them, knowing that there is no illusion; he may satisfy his needs, and still the supply is unexhausted and inexhaustible. Others also may approach the same fountain of pure joy, with as much freedom as travelers may approach the running stream in the desert.

In the habitation of dragons - (see the note at Isa_13:22). The sense of this is, that the blessings which are promised shall be as great as if in such dry and desolate places there should be verdure and beauty.

Where each lay - In every place which the wild beast had occupied.

Shall be grass - Margin, ‘A court for.’ The Hebrew word (חציר cha�tsı�yr) may mean either

grass, or a court, or habitation. The latter is undoubtedly the meaning of the word here, and thus it responds in the parallelism to the ‘habitation of dragons.’

In the habitation where each lay, Shall be a court for reeds and rushes.

Reeds and rushes - These usually grew by ponds and marshes. The image which the prophet had been employing was that era desert of sands and arid plains. He here says, that there would be verdure. In those pathless wastes there would spring up that which was nourished by water. The sense is, that those portions of the earth which are covered with moral desolation, like the pathless wastes of the desert, shall put on the appearance of moral cultivation and verdure.

2. CLARKE, “The parched ground “The glowing sand” - שרב sharab; this word is Arabic, as well as Hebrew, expressing in both languages the same thing, the glowing sandy plain, which in the hot countries at a distance has the appearance of water. It occurs in the Koran, chap. 24: “But as to the unbelievers, their works are like a vapor in a plain, which the thirsty traveler thinketh to be water, until, when he cometh thereto, he findeth it to be nothing. “Mr.

Sale’s note on this place is, “The Arabic word serab signifies that false appearance which in the eastern countries is often seen on sandy plains about noon, resembling a large lake of water in motion, and is occasioned by the reverberation of the sun beams: ‘by the quivering undulating motion of that quick succession of vapours and exhalations which are extracted by the powerful influence of the sun.’ - Shaw, Trav. p. 378. It sometimes tempts thirsty travelers out of their way; but deceives them when they come near, either going forward, (for it always appears at the Same distance), or quite vanishing.” Q. Curtius has mentioned it: “Arenas vapor aestivi solis accendit; camporumque non alia, quam vasti et profundi aequoris species est.” - Lib. vii., c. 5.

Dr. Hyde gives us the precise meaning and derivation of the word. “Dictum nomen Barca הברקה

habberakah, splendorem, seu splendentem regionem notat; cum ea regio radiis solaribus tam

copiose collustretur, ut reflexum ab arenis lumen adeo intense fulgens, a longinquo spectantibus, ad instar corporis solaris, aquarum speciem referat; et hinc arenarum splendor et radiatio, (et lingua Persica petito nomine), dicitur serab, i.e., aquae superficies seu superficialis aquarum species.” Annot. in Peritsol., cap. ii.

“Shall spring forth” - The ה he in רבצה rebitseh seems to have been at first מ mem in MS.

Bodl., whence Dr. Kennicott concludes it should be רבצים rebitsim. But instead of this word the

Syriac, Vulgate, and Chaldee read some word signifying to grow, spring up, or abound. Perhaps

החציר>פרץ paretsu, or פרצו paretsah, or פרצה parats<hachatsir, as Houbigant reads. - L.

3. GILL, “And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water,.... Such persons who have been like the parched earth, barren and unfruitful, or like the earth scorched with the sun, filled with a sense of divine wrath, and thirsting, like the dry earth, after the grace of God, Christ, and his righteousness, shall be comforted and refreshed, and filled with the grace of God: or such who have been scorched and parched with the heat of persecution, from the antichristian party, and have been thirsting after deliverance from it, shall now enjoy peace and prosperity: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay; in kingdoms, cities, and towns, inhabited by men, comparable to dragons for their poison and cruelty; where the great red dragon Satan had his seat; and the Pagan emperors, and Papal powers, who have exercised the authority, power, and cruelty of the dragon, dwell; see Rev_12:3, shall be grass, with reeds and rushes; persons shall spring up, partakers of the grace of God, who, for their number and flourishing estate, shall be like the green grass; and others, still more eminent for their gifts and usefulness, like reeds, or canes and rushes; see Isa_44:3.

4. HENRY, “The blessed effect of this shall be that the parched ground shall become a pool, Isa_35:7. Those that laboured and were heavily laden, under the burden of guilt, and were scorched with the sense of divine wrath, found rest, and refreshment, and abundant comforts in

the gospel. In the thirsty land, where no water was, nor ordinances (Psa_63:1), there shall be springs of water, a gospel ministry, and by that the administration of all gospel ordinances in their purity and plenty, which are the river that makes glad the city of our God, Psa_46:4. In the habitation of dragons, who chose to dwell in the parched scorched ground (Isa_34:9, Isa_34:13), these waters shall flow, and dispossess them, so that, where each lay shall be grass with reeds and rushes, great plenty of useful productions. Thus it was when Christian churches were planted, and flourished greatly, in the cities of the Gentiles, which, for many ages, had been habitations of dragons, or devils rather, as Babylon (Rev_18:2); when the property of the idols' temples was altered, and they were converted to the service of Christianity, then the habitations of dragons became fruitful fields.

5. JAMISON, “parched ground — rather, “the mirage (Hebrew, Sharab, ‘the sun’s heat’) shall become a (real) lake.” The sun’s rays refracted on the glowing sands at midday give the appearance of a lake of water and often deceive the thirsty traveler (compare Jer_2:13; Isa_41:18).

dragons — rather, “jackals.”

each — namely, jackal.

grass — rather, “a dwelling or receptacle (answering to the previous habitation) for reeds,” etc. (which only grow where there is water, Job_8:11). Where once there was no water, water shall abound.

6. COFFMAN, “This language is very similar to the promises in the first few verses of the chapter and carry exactly the same meaning, indicating the contrast between the conditions where men are in rebellion against God and the far better times which result from men's submission to God's will. It is no accident that, all over the world, wherever Christian faith has thrived, there, and there only, have occurred the truly great advancements of human civilizations. If one needs an example of this, try a contrast between Africa and North America.

In this verse, the expression "glowing sand" is given as "mirage" in an alternate reading in the American Standard Version margin; and some scholars prefer that reading. Such a change would not alter the obvious meaning of the passage.

7. CALVIN, “7.The dry place shall be changed into a pool. He confirms the former statement, that

Christ will come in order to enrich his people with all abundance of blessings; for waters shall flow out of “

places.” (27) We must keep in remembrance what we mentioned a little before, that the Prophet

delineates to us what may be called a picture of a happy life; for although this change was not openly

visible at the coming of Christ, yet with good reason does the Prophet affirm that, during his reign, the

whole earth shall be fruitful; for he had formerly said that without Christ all things are cursed to us.

In the habitation of dragons. The whole world, therefore, shall resemble a parched wilderness, in which

lions, “” and other wild beasts prowl, till the kingdom of Christ shall be set up; and, on the other hand,

when he is established on his throne, the godly shall lack nothing. An instance of this was given, when

the Lord delivered his people and brought them out of Babylon; but the accomplishment of this prophecy

must be looked for in Christ, through whom their ruinous condition is amended and restored; for that

deliverance was but a feeble representation of it. And yet the full accomplishment of this promise ought

not to be expected in the present life; for as it is through hope that we are blessed, (Rom_8:24,) so our

happiness, which is now in some respects concealed, must be an object of hope till the last day; and it is

enough that some taste of it be enjoyed in this world, that we may more ardently long for that perfect

happiness.

(27) “ of the general meaning put upon שרב (sharab,) by the older writers following the Septuagint

( ἄνυδρος) and the Vulgate (quoe erat arida ) it is now agreed that the word denotes the illusive

appearance caused by the unequal refraction in the lower strata of the atmosphere, and often witnessed

both at sea and land, called in English, looming, in Italian, (lang. it) fata morgana and in French, mirage In

the deserts of Arabia and Africa, the appearance presented is precisely that of an extensive sheet of

water, tending not only to mislead the traveler, but to aggravate his thirst by disappointment. The

phenomenon is well described by Quintus Curtius, in his Life of Alexander the Great.” — Alexander.

The same view is given by Vitringa, who speaks of it as held by other learned men, and illustrates it very

happily. It is also maintained by Rosenmuller, who supports it by curious and instructive extracts from

Arabic scholiasts, and from the Koran, and by a host of other authorities. — Ed

8 And a highway will be there;

it will be called the Way of Holiness;

it will be for those who walk on that Way.

The unclean will not journey on it;

wicked fools will not go about on it.

1.BARNES, “And an highway shall be there - (see the note at Isa_11:16). This is language which is derived from the return of the Jews from captivity. The idea is, that there would be easy and uninterrupted access to their own land. The more remote, though main idea in the mind of the prophet seems to have been, that the way of access to the blessings of the Messiah’s reign would be open and free to all (compare Isa_40:3-4).

And a way - It is not easy to mark the difference between the word “way” (דרך derek) and “a

highway” (מסלול maselu�l). Probably the latter refers more particularly to a raised way (from סלל

salal, to cast up), and would be expressed by our word “causeway” or “turnpike.” It was such a way as was usually made for the march of armies by removing obstructions, filling valleys, etc.

The word “way” (דרך derek) is a more general term, and denotes a path, or road of any kind.

And it shall be called the way of holiness - The reason why it should be so called is stated; - no impure person should travel it. The idea is, that all who should have access to the favor of God, or who should come into his kingdom, should be holy.

The unclean shall not pass over it - There shall be no idolater there; no one shall be admitted who is not a pure worshipper of Yahweh. Such is the design of the kingdom which is set up by the Messiah, and such the church of Christ should be (see Isa_40:3-4; Isa_49:11; Isa_62:10).

But it shall be for those - For those who are specified immediately, for the ransomed of the Lord. The Margin is, ‘For he shall be with them.’ Lowth reads it,

‘But he himself shall be with them, walking in the way.’

And this, it seems to me, is the more probable sense of the passage, indicating that they should not go alone or unprotected. It would be a holy way, because their God would be with them; it would be safe, because he would attend and defend them.

The wayfaring men - Hebrew, ‘He walking in the way.’ According to the translation proposed above, this refers to God, the Redeemer, who will be with his people, walking in the way with them.

Though fools - Hebrew, ‘And fools.’ That is, the simple, the unlearned, or those who are regarded as fools. It shall be a highway thrown up, so direct, and so unlike other paths, that there shall be no danger of mistaking it. The friends of God are often regarded as fools by the world. Many of them are of the humbler class of life, and are destitute of human learning, and of worldly wisdom. The sense here is, that the way of salvation shall be so plain, that no one, however ignorant and unlearned, need err in regard to it. In accordance with this, the Saviour said that the gospel was preached to the poor; and he himself always represented the way to life as such that the most simple and unlettered might find it.

2. CLARKE, “And a highway - The word ודרך vederech is by mistake added to the first

member of the sentence from the beginning of the following member. Sixteen MSS. of Dr. Kennicott’s, seven ancient, and two of De Rossi’s have it but once; so likewise the Syriac, Septuagint, and Arabic.

Err therein - A MS. of Dr. Kennicott’s adds בו bo, in it, which seems necessary to the sense,

and so the Vulgate, per eam, “by it. “One of De Rossi’s has שם sham, there.

But it shall be for those “But he himself shall be with them, walking in the way” - That is, God; see Isa_35:4. “Who shall dwell among them, and set them an example that they should follow his steps.” Our old English Version translated the place to this purpose, our last translators were misled by the authority of the Jews, who have absurdly made a division of the verses in the midst of the sentence, thereby destroying the construction and the sense.

3. GILL, “And an highway shall be there, and a way,.... Not two ways, but one; the way shall be a highway, a way cast up, raised, and "elevated" (y); this is to be understood principally of Christ, the only way of life and salvation; and of the lesser paths of duty and ordinances: and the meaning is, that in those desert places, where Christ and his Gospel had not been preached, at least for many ages, here he should be made known, as the way, the truth, and the life; his Gospel preached, and his ordinances administered; and multitudes, both of Jews and Gentiles, should be directed and enabled to walk here. Christ is a highway to both; a way cast up by sovereign grace, which is raised above the mire and dirt of sin, and carries over it, and from it; a way visible and manifest, clearly pointed to and described in the everlasting Gospel; it is the King's highway, the highway of the King of kings, which he has ordered and appointed, and is common to all his subjects, high and low, rich and poor, stronger or weaker believers, all may walk in this way; it is an old beaten path, which saints in all ages, from the beginning of the world, have walked in; it is the good old way, the more excellent, the most excellent one; all obstructions and impediments are removed, cast in by sin, Satan, the law, and the world; nor is anyone to be stopped and molested in this way, and all in it shall come safe to their journey's end: and it shall be called The way of holiness; or, "a holy way" (z); Christ is perfectly holy in nature and life, and the holiness of both is imputed to those that are in this way; all in this way are sanctified by the Spirit and grace of God; this way leads to perfect holiness in heaven, and none but holy persons walk here: salvation by Christ no ways discourages the practice of holiness, but is the greatest motive and incentive to it. Christ leads his people in paths of righteousness; in the paths of truth, of ordinances, and of worship, public and private, all which are holy; and in the path of Gospel conversation and godliness: this way is so holy, that the unclean shall not pass over it; all men are unclean by nature; some are cleansed by the grace of God and blood of Christ; and though, as sanctified, they are not free from sin and the pollution of it, yet, as justified, they are "the undefiled in the way"; and none but such can pass over, or pass through this way to heaven, Rev_21:27, but it shall be for those; for holy men, not for the unclean; for Israel only, as Kimchi, for such who are Israelites indeed; for those who are before mentioned, Isa_35:5 as Jarchi; it is for those to walk in who have been blind, but now see, and these are led in a way that they knew not before; for the deaf, who now hear the voice behind them, saying, this is the way; for the lame man, that leaps like a hart, to walk and run in; for the dumb, now made to sing, and go on in it rejoicing; it is for the redeemed to walk in, as in the following verse. This clause may be rendered, "and he shall be with them" (a); that is, God shall be with them; they shall have his company and gracious presence in the way; he will be with them, to guide and direct them, to supply all their wants, and furnish them with everything convenient for them; to support and strengthen them, on whom they may lean and stay themselves; to guard and protect them from all their enemies; and being with them they shall not miss their way, or fail of coming to the end. Hence it follows, the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein; or travellers; such the saints are, they are strangers, pilgrims, and sojourners here; they have no continuance here; they are like wayfaring men, that abide but for a night; they are bound for another country, a better, even a heavenly one, and at last shall arrive thither: now these, though they have been "fools" in their unregenerate state, with respect to spiritual things; or though they may not have that sharpness of wit, and quickness of natural parts, as some men have; and though they may not have that

clear and distinct knowledge of Gospel truths as others, at least of some of them, yet shall not err as to the way of salvation; and though they may err or mistake in some things, yet not in the main, not fundamentally, nor finally; the way of salvation by Christ is so plain a way, that he that has any spiritual understanding of it shall not err in it.

4. HENRY, “The way of religion and godliness shall be laid open: it is here called the way of holiness (Isa_35:8) the way both of holy worship and a holy conversation. Holiness is the rectitude of the human nature and will, in conformity to the divine nature and will. The way of holiness is that course of religious duties in which men ought to walk and press forward, with an eye to the glory of God and their own felicity in the enjoyment of him. “When our God shall come to save us he shall chalk out to us this way by his gospel, so as it had never been before described.” 1. It shall be an appointed way; not a way of sufferance, but a highway, a way into which we are directed by a divine authority and in which we are protected by a divine warrant. It is the King's highway, the King of Kings' highway, in which, though we may be waylaid, we cannot be stopped. The way of holiness is the way of God's commandments; it is (as highways usually are) the good old way, Jer_6:16. 2. It shall be an appropriated way, the way in which God will bring his own chosen to himself, but the unclean shall not pass over it, either to defile it or to disturb those that walk in it. It is a way by itself, distinguished from the way of the world, for it is a way of separation from, and nonconformity to, this world. It shall be for those whom the Lord has set apart for himself (Psa_4:3), shall be reserved for them: The redeemed shall walk there, and the satisfaction they take in these ways of pleasantness shall be out of the reach of molestation from an evil world. The unclean shall not pass over it, for it shall be a fair way; those that walk in it are the undefiled in the way, who escape the pollution that is in the world.

5. JAMISON, “highway — such a causeway (raised way, from a Hebrew root, “to cast up”) as was used for the march of armies; valleys being filled up, hills and other obstructions removed (Isa_62:10; compare Isa_40:3, Isa_40:4).

way of holiness — Hebraism for “the holy way.” Horsley translates, “the way of the Holy One;” but the words that follow, and Isa_35:10, show it is the way leading the redeemed back to Jerusalem, both the literal and the heavenly (Isa_52:1; Joe_3:17; Rev_21:27); still Christ at His coming again shall be the Leader on the way, for which reason it is called, “The way of the Lord” (Isa_40:3; Mal_3:1).

it shall be for those: the wayfaring men — rather, “He (the Holy One) shall be with them, walking in the way” [Horsley].

though fools — rather, “And (even) fools,” that is, the simple shall not go astray, namely, because “He shall be with them” (Mat_11:25; 1Co_1:26-28).

6. K&D, “In the midst of such miracles, by which all nature is glorified, the people of Jehovah are redeemed, and led home to Zion. “And a highway rises there, and a road, and it will be called the Holy Road; no unclean man will pass along it, as it is appointed for them: whoever walks the road, even simple ones do not go astray. There will be no lion there, and the most ravenous beast of prey will not approach it, will not be met with there; and redeemed ones walk. And the ransomed of Jehovah will return, and come to Zion with shouting, and everlasting joy upon their head: they lay hold of gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing flee away.” Not only unclean persons from among the heathen, but even unclean persons belonging

to Israel itself, will never pass along that holy road; none but the church purified and sanctified

through sufferings, and those connected with it. הוא למו, to them, and to them alone, does this

road belong, which Jehovah has made and secured, and which so readily strikes the eye, that even an idiot could not miss it; whilst it lies to high, that no beast of prey, however powerful

(perıts<chayyo1th, a superlative verbal noun: Ewald, §313, c), could possibly leap up to it: not one is ever encountered by the pilgrim there. The pilgrims are those whom Jehovah has redeemed and

delivered, or set free from captivity and affliction (לUV, לג, related to חל, solvere; דהW, פד, scindere,

abscindere). Everlasting joy soars above their head; they lay fast hold of delight and joy (compare on Isa_13:8), so that it never departs from them. On the other hand, sorrow and sighing flee away. The whole of Isa_35:10 is like a mosaic from Isa_51:11; Isa_61:7; Isa_51:3; and what is affirmed of the holy road, is also affirmed in Isa_52:1 of the holy city (compare Isa_62:12; Isa_63:4). A prelude of the fulfilment is seen in what Ezra speaks of with gratitude to God in Ezr_8:31. We have intentionally avoided crowding together the parallel passages from chapters 40-66. The whole chapter is, in every part, both in thought and language, a prelude of that book of consolation for the exiles in their captivity. Not only in its spiritual New Testament thoughts, but also in its ethereal language, soaring high as it does in majestic softness and light, the prophecy has now reached the highest point of its development.

7. CALVIN, “8.And a path shall be there. Here it is promised to the Jews that they shall be allowed to

return to their native country, lest, when they were carried into Babylon, they should think that they were

led into perpetual banishmerit. Yet this statement is, in my opinion, extended much farther by the Prophet;

for, as he promised a little before, that there would be plenty and abundance of provisions where there

had been barrenness, so now he says that those places where formerly no man dwelt shall be occupied

with the.journeys and habitations of a vast multitude of men; and, in short, that the whole of Judea shall

enjoy such harmony and peace with other countries, that men shall pass from the one country to the

other without fear; for where there are no inhabitants, there can be no intercourse and no roads. He

therefore means that the Jews will carry on intercourse and merchandise with other nations, after having

been brought back and restored to their own land.

And it shall be called, The holy way. Not without reason does the Prophet add that “ way shall be holy;”

for wherever there is a great multitude of men, innumerable vices and corruptions abound. What else is

done by a crowd of men than to pollute the land by infecting each other with mutual contagion? The

Prophet therefore means that not only the earth, but also the minds of men are renewed by the kindness

of Christ, so that they sanctify the earth which they formerly were wont to corrupt by their pollution. Yet

what I stated briefly ought to be remembered, that the Jews, to whom the way shall be consecrated, will

return to their native country, that they may worship their Redeemer in it in a holy manner; as if he had

said that the land will be cleansed from the disgraceful rabble of a wicked people, that it may be inhabited

by the true worshippers of God.

The unclean person shall not pass through it. He now adds a more full explanation; for polluted persons

shall not tread the land which God hath set apart for his children; as if he had said, that the Lord will

separate believers in such a manner that they shall not be mingled with the reprobate. This ought,

unquestionably, to be reckoned among the most valuable blessings of the Church; but it is not fulfilled in

this life; for both despisers of God and hypocrites rush indiscriminately into the Church and hold a place

there. Yet some evidence of this grace becomes visible, whenever God, by various methods, cleanses

his Church; but the full cleansing of it must be expected at the last day. Even the worshippers of God,

whom he has regenerated by his Spirit, are attended by much uncleanness. Though they have been

sanctified by God, yet their holiness cannot be perfect; their flesh is not wholly dead, but subdued and

restrained so as to obey the Spirit. Now, it is because the Lord reigns in them, and subdues their natural

dispositions, that, on account of that part of them which is the most important, they are called Saints.

And he shall be to them one that walketh in the way. This clause has been tortured in various ways by

commentators. Some render it “ shall be their road; they who have been used to the road, and they who

are unacquainted with it, shall not go astray.” Others render it, “ shall be the road for the children of Israel,

and they who walk shall not go astray, though they be unacquainted with it.” But the demonstrative

pronoun הוא, (hu,) he, is more correctly, in my opinion, viewed as referring to God; as if he had said, that

God will go before them to lead and direct the way. And the context absolutely demands it; for it would not

be enough to have the way opened up, if God did not go before to guide his people. The Prophet

therefore extols this inestimable kindness, when he represents God as journeying along with his people;

for, if he do not point out the road, our feet will always lead us astray, for we are wholly inclined to vanity.

Besides, though the road be at hand, and though it be plain before our eyes, yet we shall not be able to

distinguish it from the wrong road, and if we begin to walk in it, our folly will quickly lead us off on the right

hand or on the left. But the Prophet shews that we shall be in no danger of going astray, when we shall

follow God as the leader of the way; for he condescends to perform this office; and he probably alludes to

the history of the first redemption, for at that time God directed his people

“ means of a cloud by day, and of a pillar of fire by night.” (Exo_13:21.)

At the same time he points out how necessary it is that God should govern us, in directly laying folly to

our charge, when he adds —

Fools shall not go astray; for they who are wise in their own eyes, and who rely on their own guidance,

will be permitted by God to wander in uncertain courses; and therefore, if we wish that he should walk

along with us, let us know that we need his guidance. Yet he offers us this most excellent reward, that

they who follow him, even though they did not formerly possess any wisdom, shall be in no danger of

going astray. Yet the Prophet does not mean that believers, after the Lord has taken them by the hand,

will be ignorant; but he shews what they are before the Lord becomes their leader.

8. MACLAREN, “THE KING'S HIGHWAY

We can fancy what it is to be lost in a forest where a traveller may ride round in a circle, thinking he is advancing, till he dies. But it is as easy to be lost in a wilderness, where there is nothing to see, as in a wood where one can see nothing. And there is something even more ghastly in being lost below the broad heavens in the open face of day than ‘in the close covert of innumerous boughs.’ The monotonous swells of the sand-heaps, the weary expanse stretching right away to the horizon, no land-marks but the bleaching bones of former victims, the gigantic sameness, the useless light streaming down, and in the centre one tiny, black speck toiling vainly, rushing madly hither and thither-a lost man-till he desperately flings himself down and lets death bury him, that is the one picture suggested by the text. The other is of that same wilderness, but across it a mighty king has flung up a broad, lofty embankment, a highway raised above the sands, cutting across them so conspicuously that even an idiot could not help seeing it, so high above the land around that the lion’s spring falls far beneath it, and the supple tiger skulks baffled at its base. It is like one of those roads which the terrible energy of conquering Rome carried straight as an arrow from the milestone in the Forum over mountains, across rivers and

deserts, morasses and forests, to flash along them the lightning of her legions, and over whose solid blocks we travel to-day in many a land.

The prophet has seen in his vision the blind and deaf cured, the capacities of human nature destroyed by sin restored. He has told us that this miraculous change has come from the opening of a spring of new life in the midst of man’s thirsty desert, and now he gets before us, in yet another image, another aspect of the glorious change which is to follow that coming of the Lord to save, which filled the farthest horizon of his vision. The desert shall have a plain path on which those diseased men who have been healed journey. Life shall no longer be trackless, but God will, by His coming, prepare paths that we should walk in them; and as He has given the lame man power to walk, so will he also provide the way by which His happy pilgrims will journey to their home.

I. The pathless wandering of godless lives.

The old, old comparison of life to a journey is very natural and very pathetic. It expresses life’s ceaseless change; every day carries us into a new scene, every day the bends of the road shut out some happy valley where we fain would have rested, every day brings new faces, new associations, new difficulties, and even if the same recur, yet it is with such changes that they are substantially new, and of each day’s march it is true, even when life is most monotonous, that ‘ye have not passed this way heretofore.’ It expresses life’s ceaseless effort and constant plodding. To-day’s march does not secure to-morrow’s rest, but, however footsore and weary, we have to move on, like some child dragged along by a careless nurse. It expresses the awful crumbling away of life beneath us. The road has an end, and each step takes us nearer to it. The numbers that face us on the milestones slowly and surely decrease; we pass the last and on we go, tramp, tramp, and we cannot stop till we reach the narrow chamber, cold and dark, where, at any rate, we have got the long march over.

But to many men, the journey of life is one which has no definite direction deliberately chosen, which has no all-inclusive aim, which has no steady progress. There may be much running hither and thither, but it is as aimless as the marchings of a fly upon a window, as busy and yet as uncertain as that of the ants who bustle about on an ant-hill.

Now that is the idea, which our text implies, of all the activity of a godless life, that it is not a steady advance to a chosen goal, but a rushing up and down in a trackless desert, with many immense exertions all thrown away. Then, in contrast, it puts this great thought: that God has come to us and made for us a path for our feet.

II. The highway that God casts up.

Of course that coming we take to be Christ’s coming, and we have just to consider the manner in which His coming fulfils this great promise, and has made in the trackless wilderness a way for us to walk in.

1. Christ gives us a Definite Aim for Life. I know, of course, that men may have this apart from Him, definite enough in all conscience. But such aims are unworthy of men’s whole capacities. Not one of them is fit to be made the exclusive, all-embracing purpose of a life, and, taken together, they are so multifarious that in their diversity they come to be equal to none. How many we have all had! Most of us are like men who zig-zag about, chasing after butterflies! Nor are any such aims certain to be reached during life, and they all are certain to be lost at death.

Godless men are enticed on like some dumb creature lured to slaughter-house by a bunch of fodder-once inside, down comes the pole-axe.

But Christ gives us a definite aim which is worthy of a man, which includes all others; which binds this life and the next into one.

2. Christ gives us distinct knowledge of whither we should go. It is not enough to give general directions; we need to know what our next step is to be. It is of no avail that we see the shining turrets far off on the hill, if all the valleys between are unknown and trackless. Well: we have Him to point us our course. He is the exemplar-the true ideal of human nature. Hour by hour His pattern fits to our lives. True, we shall often be in perplexity, but that perplexity will clear itself by patient thought, by holding our wills in suspense till He speaks, and by an honest wish to go right. There will no longer be doubt as to what is our law, though there may be as to the application of it. We are not to be guided by men’s maxims, nor by the standards and patterns round us, but by Him.

3. Christ gives means by which we can reach the aim. He does so by supplying a stimulus to our activity, in the motive of His love; by the removal of the hindrances arising from sin, through His redeeming work; by the gifts of new life from His Spirit.

‘The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city.’ But he that follows Jesus treads the right way to the city of habitation.

4. Christ goes with us. The obscure words, ‘It shall be for those’ are by some rendered, ‘He shall be with them,’ and we may take them so, as referring to the presence with His happy pilgrims of the Lord Himself. Perhaps Isaiah may have been casting back a thought to the desert march, where the pillar led the host. But at all events we have the same companion to ‘talk with us by the way,’ and make ‘our hearts burn within us,’ as had the two disconsolate pedestrians on the road to Emmaus. It is Jesus who goes before us, whether He leads us to green pastures and waters of quietness or through valleys of the shadow of death, and we can be smitten by no evil, since He is with us.

III. The travellers upon God’s highway.

Two conditions are laid down in the text. One is negative-the unclean can find no footing there. It is ‘the way of holiness,’ not only because holiness is in some sense the goal to which it leads, but still more, because only holy feet can tread it, holy at least in the travellers’ aspiration and inward consecration, though still needing to be washed daily. One is positive-it is ‘the simple’ who shall not err therein. They who distrust themselves and their own skill to find or force a path through life’s jungle, and trust themselves to higher guidance, are they whose feet will be kept in the way.

No lion or ravenous beast can spring or creep up thereon. Simple keeping on Christ’s highway elevates us above temptations and evils of all sorts, whether nightly prowlers or daylight foes.

This generation is boasting or complaining that old landmarks are blotted out, ancient paths broken, footmarks obliterated, stars hid, and mist shrouding the desert. But Christ still guides, and His promise still holds good: ‘He that followeth Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ The alternative for each ‘traveller between life and death’ is to tread in His footsteps or to ‘wander in the wilderness in a solitary way, hungry and thirsty,’ with fainting soul. Let us make the ancient prayer ours: ‘See if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.’

9. COFFMAN, “One of the most glorious passages in all the Word of God is these three verses. "The glory of this passage is enhanced, if that is possible, by its setting as an oasis between the visionary waste of Isaiah 34 and the history of war, sickness and folly in Isaiah 36-39."[13]

Another glorious thing about this chapter was pointed out by Kelley who wrote:

"Attention has often been called to the numerous parallels between Isaiah 35 and those found in Isaiah 40-66. The themes shared in common include: (1) the transformation of the desert into a lush oasis at the appearance of God, which appears also in Isaiah 41:17-20; 43:19-21; 51:3,10,11; 55:12:13; (2) the coming of God as a source of comfort and strength, found also in Isaiah 40:9-11; 52:7-10; (3) the restoration to health of the weak and infirm, appearing again in Isaiah 42:16; 61:1; (4) the preparation in the desert of a highway for the redeemed, predicted again in Isaiah 40:3-5; 49:8-11; (5) the joy of the redeemed as they return to Zion, mentioned also in Isaiah 43:5-7; 49:12-13; 51:11."[14]

Important as these comparisons are, Kelley's conclusion is even more important: He wrote, "The close similarities between the two sections argue for a common background and origin." Yes indeed! This is not only "an argument" for a common origin, it is proof of the same; and that proof has been available for all generations and is still so. Near the end of the last century. Dr. George C. M. Douglas published a book in London, entitled "Isaiah One, and his Book One!"[15] It has never been any other way with truly intellectual and thoughtful scholars. It is wonderful to see this same thought in a Broadman Commentary!

How many "ways" are visible in this passage? The answer is, only one. But, does not the text say, "A highway and a way"; and does not that make two? That second "way" which appears here is an error. "A Hebrew word was added by mistake to the first member of the sentence." It does not read like this in many ancient manuscripts and in the Syriac version.[16]

The proof of Lowth's position on this is seen in the manner Jesus Christ treated the teaching here. We already know that Christ, and only Christ, is the Highway of this passage; and yet he did not say, "I am the Highway"; but that "I am the Way" (John 14:6). The truly accurate understanding of the scriptures by Jesus is seen in the difference. For Christ to have said "I am the highway," it might have been interpreted as an implication that there was also another way, or a low way. We have seen that some critics are unwilling to allow the comments of Christ on the Old Testament prophets as the truth, because some of such critics vainly think they are more learned than was Christ; but the truth is, none of them of whom we have ever read, is even in a class with Jesus, but far inferior to him.

"The whole atmosphere of this passage is supernatural."[17] This passage is not referring to any kind of an elevated roadway through a desert, but to the way of Salvation in Jesus Christ. He alone is "the way."

Some of the language here has long been misunderstood. "Wayfaring man, though a fool, shall not err therein" has been thought to mean that even a fool can enter the "Way" without making an error; but what is meant is that, "Fools are not permitted to enter it."[18] The word "fools" here carries a moral rather than an intellectual significance, "Here they stand for the irreligious, and they shall not go to and from in that way of holiness. The English Revised Version (1885) is singularly unfortunate here, since it has been commonly taken to mean that `not even a fool can miss it.'"[19] Throughout the New Testament. the term "fool" always implies wickedness. The foolish builder who built on the sand, the foolish virgins, the rich fool who mistook his stomach for his soul, etc. were always morally deficient persons.

As Hailey summed up the lines about the wayfaring man, though a fool, "The prophet is not saying that the way is so simple that an inexperienced or unlearned person cannot miss it, but that the man who despises wisdom, being wise in evil instead, will not make the mistake of walking in it."

9 No lion will be there,

nor any ravenous beast;

they will not be found there.

But only the redeemed will walk there,

1.BARNES, “No lion shall be there - Lions abounded in all the countries adjacent to Palestine. They are, therefore, often referred to by the sacred writers, as objects of dread and alarm. The leading idea in the language of Isaiah in this whole passage, is that of a way constructed from Babylon to Judea, so straight and plain that the most simple of the people might find it and walk in it. But such a path would lie through desert sands. It would be in the region infested with lions and other wild beasts. The prophet, therefore, suggests that there should be no cause for such dread and alarm. The sense is, that in that kingdom to which he had made reference all would be safe. They who entered it should find security and defense as they traveled that road. And it is true. They who enter the path that leads to life, find there no cause of alarm. Their fears subside; their apprehensions of punishment on account of their sins die away; and they walk that path with security and confidence. There is nothing in that way to alarm them; and though there may be many foes - fitly represented by lions and wild beasts - lying about the way, yet no one is permitted to ‘go up thereon.’ This is a most beautiful image of the safety of the people of God, and of their freedom from all enemies that could annoy them.

But the redeemed shall walk there - The language here referred at first doubtless to those who would be rescued from the captivity at Babylon; but the main reference is to those who would be redeemed by the blood of the atonement, or who are properly called ‘the redeemed of the Lord.’ That Isaiah was acquainted with the doctrine of redemption is apparent from Isa_53:1-12. There is not here, indeed, any express mention made of the means by which they would be redeemed, but the language is so general that it may refer either to the deliverance from the captivity at Babylon, or the future more important deliverance of his people from the bondage of sin by the atoning sacrifice of the Messiah. On the word rendered ‘redeem,’ see the note at Isa_43:1. The idea is, that the path here referred to is appropriately designed only for the redeemed of Lord. It is not for the profane, the polluted, the hypocrite. It is not for those who live for this world, or for those who love pleasure more than they love God. The church should not be entered except by those who have evidence that they are redeemed. None should make a profession of religion who have no evidence that they belong to ‘the redeemed,’ and who are not disposed to walk in the way of holiness. But, for all such it is a highway on which they are to travel. It is made by levelling hills and elevating valleys; it is made across the sandy desert and through the wilderness of this world; it is made through a world infested with the enemies of God and his people. It is made straight and plain, so that none need err; it is defended from enemies, so that all may be safe; it is rendered secure, because ‘He,’ their Leader and Redeemer, shall go with and guard that way.

2. CLARKE, “It shall not be found there “Neither shall he be found there” - Three

MSS. read ולא velo, adding the conjunction; and so likewise the Septuagint and Vulgate. And

four MSS., one ancient, read ימצא yimmatsa, the verb, as it certainly ought to be, in the masculine

form.

The redeemed shall walk there - וליםגא geulim. Those whose forfeited inheritances are

brought back by the kinsman, גואל goel, the nearest of kin to the family. This has been

considered by all orthodox divines as referring to the incarnation of our Lord, and his sacrificial

offering. After גאולים geulim, one of De Rossi’s MSS. adds עולם>עד ad<olam, for ever, “The

redeemed shall walk there for ever.”

3. GILL, “No lion shall be there,.... That is, in the way before described; no wicked persons, comparable to lions for their savage and cruel dispositions towards the people of God; for those who have been as such, as Saul before conversion, yet when brought into this way become as tame as lambs. The Targum interprets it of tyrannical kings and princes, "there shall not be there a king doing evil, nor an oppressive governor;'' and Jarchi applies it to Nebuchadnezzar, as in Jer_4:7 and the sense may be, that when this way shall be more known on earth, in the latter day, there will be no persecutor of the church and people of God: or else Satan, the roaring lion, is here meant, who has no part nor lot in this way of salvation; and all that are in it are out of his reach; and though he may disturb in the paths of duty and ordinances, yet he can never destroy those who are in Christ the way: nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon; upon the high way; the same may be intended as before: it shall not be found there; walking, ravaging, and destroying: but the redeemed shall walk there; without fear, as Kimchi adds, since no lion, or any beast of prey, shall be found upon it: the "redeemed" are the redeemed of the Lord, and by him, and are peculiarly his, being bought with his precious blood, redeemed from among men, and unto God, and from sin, the law, its curse, and condemnation; these "shall walk" in the way of life and salvation by Christ, in consequence of their being redeemed; which supposes life, strength, and wisdom, which are given them, and a proficiency or going forward: they "shall" walk here; though they have been blind, their eyes shall be opened to see this way; and, though weak, they shall have strength to walk in it; and, though foolish, they shall have wisdom to guide their feet with discretion; and, though they may stumble and fall, they shall rise again, and shall keep on walking to the end.

4. HENRY, “It shall be a straight way: The wayfaring men, who choose to travel in it, though fools, of weak capacity in other things, shall have such plain directions from the word and Spirit of God in this way that they shall not err therein; not that they shall be infallible even in their own conduct, or that they shall in nothing mistake, but they shall not be guilty of any fatal misconduct, shall not so miss their way but that they shall recover it again, and get well to their journey's end. Those that are in the narrow way, though some may fall into one path and others

into another, not all equally right, but all meeting at last in the same end, shall yet never fall into the broad way again; the Spirit of truth shall lead them into all truth that is necessary for them. Note, The way to heaven is a plain way, and easy to hit. God has chosen the foolish things of the world, and made them wise to salvation. Knowledge is easy to him that understands. 4. It shall be a safe way: No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast (Isa_35:9), none to hurt or destroy. Those that keep close to this way keep out of the reach of Satan the roaring lion, that wicked one touches them not. Those that walk in the way of holiness may proceed with a holy security and serenity of mind, knowing that nothing can do them any real hurt; they shall be quiet from the fear of evil. It was in Hezekiah's days, some time after the captivity of the ten tribes, that God, being displeased with the colonies settled there, sent lions among them, 2Ki_17:25. But Judah keeps her integrity, and therefore no lions shall be there. Those that walk in the way of holiness must separate themselves from the unclean and the ravenous, must save themselves from an untoward generation; hoping that they themselves are of the redeemed, let them walk with the redeemed who shall walk there.

5. JAMISON, “No lion — such as might be feared on the way through the wilderness which abounded in wild beasts, back to Judea. Every danger shall be warded off the returning people (Isa_11:6-9; Eze_34:25; Hos_2:18). Compare spiritually, Pro_3:17.

6. MACLAREN, “Isaiah 35:9-10 WHAT LIFE'S JOURNEY MAY BE We have here the closing words of Isaiah’s prophecy. It has been steadily rising, and now it has reached the summit. Men restored to all their powers, a supernatural communication of a new life, a pathway for our journey-these have been the visions of the preceding verses, and now the prophet sees the happy pilgrims flocking along the raised way, and hears some faint strains of their glad music, and he marks them, rank after rank, entering the city of their solemnities, and through the gates can behold them invested with joy and gladness, while sorrow and sighing, like some night-loving birds shrinking from the blaze of that better sun which lights the city, spread their black wings and flee away.

The noble rhythm of our English version rises here to a strain of pathetic music, the very cadence of which stirs thoughts that lie too deep for tears, and one shrinks from taking these lofty words of immortal hope-which life’s sorrows have interpreted, I trust, for many of us-as the text of a sermon. But I would fain try whether some of their gracious sweetness and power may not survive even our rude handling of them.

The prophet here is not only speaking of the literal return of his brethren from captivity. The place which this prophecy holds at the very close of the book, the noble loftiness of the language, the entire absence of any details or specific allusions which compel reference to the Captivity, would be sufficient of themselves to make us suspect that there was very much more here. The structure of prophecy is misunderstood unless it be recognised that all the history of Israel was itself a prediction, a great supernatural system of types and shadows, and that all the interventions of the divine hand are one in principle, and all foretell the great intervention of redeeming love, in the person of Jesus Christ. Nor need that be unlikely in the eyes of any who believe that Christ’s coming is the centre of the world’s history, and that there is in prophecy a supernatural element. We are not reading our own fancies into Scripture; we are not using, in allowable freedom, words which had another meaning altogether, to adorn our own theology, but we are apprehending the innermost meaning of prophecy, when we see in it Christ and His salvation (1Pe_1:10).

We have then here a picture of what Christ does for us weary journeyers on life’s road,

I. Who are the travellers?

‘Redeemed,’ ‘ransomed of the Lord.’ Israel had in its past history one great act, under the imagery of which all future deliverances were prophesied. The events of the Exodus were the great storehouse from which prophets drew the clothing of their brightest hopes; and that is a lesson for us of how to use the history of God’s past deliverances. They believed that each transitory act was a revelation of an unchanging purpose and an unexhausted power, and that it would be repeated over and over again. Experience supplied the material out of which Hope wove its fairest webs, but Faith drove the shuttle. Here the names which describe the pilgrims come from the old story. They are slaves, purchased or otherwise set free from captivity by a divine act. The epithets are transferred to the New Testament, and become the standing designation for those who have been delivered by Christ.

That designation, ‘ransomed of the Lord,’ opens out into the great evangelical thoughts which are the very life-blood of vital Christianity.

Emancipation from bondage is the first thing that we all need. ‘He that committeth sin is the slave of sin.’ An iron yoke presses on every neck.

The needed emancipation can only be obtained by a ransom price. The question of to whom the ransom is paid is not in the horizon of prophet or apostle or of Jesus Himself, in using this metaphor. What is strongly in their minds is that a great surrender must be greatly made by the Emancipator.

Jesus conceived of Himself as giving ‘His life a ransom for the many.’

The emancipation must be a divine act. It surpasses any created power.

There can be no happy pilgrims unless they are first set free.

II. The end of the journey.

‘They shall come to Zion.’ It is one great distinctive characteristic and blessedness of the Christian conception of the future that it takes away from it all the chilling sense of strangeness, arising from ignorance and lack of experience, and invests it with the attraction of being the mother-city of us all. So the pilgrims are not travelling a dreary road into the common darkness, but are like colonists who visit England for the first time, and are full of happy anticipations of ‘going home,’ though they have never seen its shores.

That conception of the future perfect state as a ‘city’ includes the ideas of happy social life, of a settled polity, of stability and security. The travellers who were often solitary on the march will all be together there. The nomads, who had to leave their camping-place each morning and let the fire that cheered them in the night die down into a little ring of grey ashes, will ‘go no more out,’ but yet make endless progress within the gates. The defenceless travellers, who were fain to make the best ‘laager’ they could, and keep vigilant watch for human and bestial enemies crouching beyond the ring of light from the camp-fires, are safe at last, and they that swallowed them up shall be far away.

Contrast the future outlook of the noblest minds in heathenism with the calm certainty which the gospel has put within the reach of the simplest! ‘Blessed are your eyes, for they see.’

III. The joy of the road.

The pilgrims do not plod wearily in silence, but, like the tribes going up to the feasts, burst out often, as they journey, into song. They are like Jehoshaphat’s soldiers, who marched to the fight with the singers in the van chanting ‘Give thanks unto the Lord, for His mercy endureth for ever.’ The Christian life should be a joyful life, ever echoing with the ‘high praises of God.’ However difficult the march, there is good reason for song, and it helps to overcome the

difficulties. ‘A merry heart goes all the day, a sad heart tires in a mile.’ Why should the ransomed pilgrims sing? For present blessings, for deliverance from the burden of self and sin, for communion with God, for light shed on the meaning of life, and for the sure anticipation of future bliss.

‘Everlasting joy on their heads.’ Other joys are transitory. It is not only ‘we poets’ who ‘in our youth begin with gladness,’ whereof ‘cometh in the end despondency and madness’; but, in a measure, these are the outlines of the sequence in all godless lives. The world’s festal wreathes wilt and wither in the hot fumes of the banqueting house, and ‘the crown of pride shall be trodden under foot.’ But joy of Christ’s giving ‘shall remain,’ and even before we sit at the feast, we may have our brows wreathed with a garland ‘that fadeth not away.’

IV. The perfecting of joy at last.

‘They shall obtain joy and gladness’: but had they not had it on their heads as they marched? Yes; but at last they have it in perfect measure and manner. The flame that burned but dimly in the heavy air of earth flashes up into new brightness in the purer atmosphere of the city.

And one part of its perfecting is the removal of all its opposites. Sorrow ends when sin and the discipline that sin needs have ended. ‘The inhabitant shall not say: I am sick; the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.’ Sighing ends when weariness, loss, physical pain, and all the other ills that flesh is heir to have ceased to vex and weigh upon the spirit. Life purges the dross of imperfection from character. Death purges the alloy of sorrow and sighing from joy, and leaves the perfected spirit possessor of the pure gold of perfect and eternal gladness.

7. CALVIN, “9.There shall not be there a lion. He adds another favor of God, that the people, though

they travel through a wilderness, will be protected against every hostile attack. Formerly he mentioned it

(Isa_34:14) as one of the curses of God, that wild beasts would meet the Jews wherever they went; but

now he declares that, when they have been received into favor, no lions and no beasts of prey shall

attack them; because the Lord will ward them off, so as to open up a way for his people free from all

danger and from all fear. For although they had received liberty to return, yet they might have met with

many obstacles; and therefore he says that the Lord will remove every annoyance and obstruction.

We may draw from this a profitable doctrine, namely, that God not only begins, but conducts to the end,

the work of our salvation, that his grace in us may not be useless and unprofitable. As he opens up the

way, so he paves it, and removes obstacles of every description, and is himself the leader during the

whole journey. In short, he continues his grace towards us in such a manner that he at length brings it to

perfection. And this ought to be applied to the whole course of our life. Here we walk as on a road,

moving forward to that blessed inheritance. Satan presents numerous obstructions, and dangers

surround us on every side; but the Lord, who goes before and leads us by the hand, will not leave us in

the midst of the journey, but at length will perfectly finish what he has begun in us by his Spirit. (Phi_1:6.)

Yet it ought to be observed that the very beasts, through God’ kindness, shall be tamed, so as not to

direct their rage and cruelty against us, as it is said,

“ will make a covenant for you with the fowls of heaven, and with the beasts of prey.” (Hos_2:18.)

10 and those the Lord has rescued will return.

They will enter Zion with singing;

everlasting joy will crown their heads.

Gladness and joy will overtake them,

and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

1.BARNES, “And the ransomed of the Lord - The word rendered here ‘ransomed,’ is

different from the word rendered ‘redeemed’ in Isa_35:9. This word is פדויי pedu�ye1y from פדה pa�

da�h; though it is not easy, perhaps not possible, to designate the difference in the sense. Doubtless there was a shade of difference among the Hebrews, but what it was is not now known. See this word explained in the note at Isa_1:27. The language here is all derived from the deliverance from Babylon, and the images employed by the prophet relate to that event. Still, there can be no doubt that he meant to describe the deliverance under the Messiah.

Shall return, and come to Zion - This language also is that which expresses the return from Babylon. In a more general sense, and in the sense intended particularly by the prophet, it means, doubtless, that all who are the redeemed of God shall be gathered under his protection, and shall be saved.

With songs - With rejoicing - as the ransomed captives would return from Babylon, and as all who are redeemed enter the church on earth, and will enter into heaven above.

And everlasting joy upon their heads - This may be an expression denoting the fact that joy is manifest in the face and aspect (Gesenius). Thus we say that joy lights up the countenance, and it is possible that the Hebrews expressed this idea by applying it to the head. Thus the Hebrews say Psa_126:2 :

Then was our mouth filled with laughter. And our tongue with singing.

Or it may refer to the practice of anointing the head with oil and perfume in times of festivity and joy - in contrast with the custom of throwing ashes on the head in times of grief and calamity (Rosenmuller). Or it may refer to a custom of wearing a wreath or chaplet of flowers in times of festivity, as is often done now, and as was commonly done among the ancients in triumphal processions (Vitringa). Whichever exposition be adopted, the idea is the same, that there would be great joy, and that that joy would be perpetual and unfading. This is true of all who return to Zion under the Messiah. Joy is one of the first emotions; joy at redemption, and at the pardon of sin; joy in view of the hopes of eternal life, and of the everlasting favor of God. But this joy is not short-lived and fading, like the garland of flowers on the head; it is constant, increasing, everlasting.

And sorrow and sighing shall flee away - (See the note at Isa_25:8).

This is a most beautiful close of the series or succession of prophecies which we have been thus far contemplating. The result of all is, that the redeemed of the Lord shall have joy and rejoicing; that all their enemies shall be subdued, and that they shall be rescued from all their foes. In the analysis of the prophecy contained in the thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth chapters, it was stated that this prophecy seemed to be a summary of all that Isaiah had before uttered, and was designed to show that all the enemies of the people of God would be destroyed, and that they would be triumphantly delivered and saved. All these minor deliverances were preparatory to and emblematic of the greater deliverance under the Messiah; and accordingly all his predictions look forward to, and terminate in that. In the portions of prophecy which we have been over, we have seen the people of God represented as in danger from the Syrians, the Assyrians, the Egyptians, the Moabites, the Edomites, the Babylonians; and in reference to them all, the same result has been predicted, that they would be delivered from them, and that their enemies would be destroyed.

This has been, in the chapters which we have passed over, successively foretold of Damascus, of Egypt, of Moab, of Ethiopia, of Babylon, of Edom, and of Sennacherib; and the prophet has reached the conclusion that all the enemies of God’s people would ultimately be destroyed, and that they would be safe under the reign of the Messiah, to which all their deliverances were preparatory, and in which they all would terminate, Having pursued this course of the prophecy; having looked at all these foes; having seen them in vision all destroyed; having seen the Prince of Peace come; having seen the wonders that he would perform; having seen all danger subside, and the preparation made for the eternal security and joy of all his people, the prophet closes this series of predictions with the beautiful statement now before us, ‘the redeemed of Yahweh shall return, and come to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy; and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.’

2. CLARKE, “The ransomed - פדויי peduyey, from פדה padah, “to redeem by paying a

price.” Those for whom a price was paid down to redeem them from bondage and death.

Sighing shall flee away - אנחה anachah. Never was a sorrowful accent better expressed than

in this strong guttural word, an-ach-ah; nearly the same with the Irish in their funeral wailings, och-och-on. The whole nation express all their mournful accents by these three monosyllables.

This chapter contains the following parts: -

3. GILL, “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,.... The same with the "redeemed" in Isa_35:9 these shall return, or be converted, as the Vulgate Latin version; they are in the same state and condition with other men by nature, but, by virtue of their being ransomed by Christ, they are by the grace of God turned from darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God; they are returned from the paths in which they had been straying to Christ, the Shepherd and Bishop of souls, in order to walk in his ways, and come to Zion with songs; being called by grace, and converted, they turn their backs on the world, and the men of it, and ask the way to Zion, with their faces thitherwards, even to the church of God; and they find their way, being directed and brought there by the Lord himself; where they come readily and willingly, not only to hear the Gospel, but to submit to all ordinances, and become members of a Gospel church; see Heb_12:20 and hither they "come with songs", for electing, redeeming, calling, justifying, and pardoning grace; everyone of which

blessings requires a song, and with which they are now affected, seeing their interest in them, and cannot forbear speaking of them to the glory of divine grace: and everlasting joy upon their heads; seen in their countenances, and by the lifting up of their heads; and which oil of gladness, is poured upon them, and diffused all over them, like the ointment on Aaron's head: and this is "everlasting": not as to the exercise of it, which is often interrupted by sin, temptation, and desertion; but as to the ground and foundation of it, the everlasting love of God, the everlasting covenant of his grace, and the everlasting righteousness and salvation by Christ; and, as to the principle and habit of it, which can never be lost, nor any man take it away: they shall obtain joy and gladness; by having the presence of God, and communion with him; through his love being shed abroad in their hearts; by being favoured with views of Christ, and interest in him, and with the gracious influences of the blessed Spirit: and sorrow and sighing shall flee away; which before attended them, through convictions of sin, but now removed by the discoveries and applications of pardoning grace and mercy; or what was occasioned by want of the divine Presence, now enjoyed; being come to Zion, they are made joyful in the house of prayer, and are satisfied with the marrow and fatness of Gospel ordinances, and continually hear the joyful sound of the Gospel itself: all this may be applied to the state of the saints in heaven; for the highway before described not only leads to Zion the church below, but to the Zion above, to the heavenly glory; and all the redeemed, all that walk in this way, shall come thither; at death their souls "return" to God that gave them, and are in immediate happiness with Christ; and in the resurrection shall return from their dusty beds, and shall appear before God in Zion above; and "with songs" to Father, Son, and Spirit, for what each have done for them, in election, redemption, and conversion; and for persevering grace, and for being safely brought over Jordan's river, and from the grave; see 1Co_15:54, they shall then enter into joy, which will never end; there will be nothing to interrupt it to all eternity; it will be "everlasting joy" indeed; and this will be "upon their heads", visible and manifest, and be upon them as a crown of life, righteousness, and glory, that shall never fade away; they shall then "obtain joy and gladness", in all the fulness thereof, their joy in the Lord will be complete; which these several words and phrases used are expressive of; and then there will be no more "sorrow and sighing"; for there will be no more sin and unbelief, or any other corruption of nature; no more darkness and desertion; no more of any of Satan's temptations; no more distresses, inward or outward; and so no more sighing within, nor sorrowing without; all tears will be wiped away. The Jews (b) apply this passage to the world to come.

4. HENRY, “The end of this way shall be everlasting joy, Isa_35:10. This precious promise of peace now will end shortly in endless joys and rest for the soul. Here is good news for the citizens of Zion, rest to the weary: The ransomed of the Lord, who therefore ought to follow him wherever he goes (Rev_14:4), shall return and come to Zion, 1. To serve and worship God in the church militant: they shall deliver themselves out of Babylon (Zec_2:7), shall ask the way to Zion (Jer_50:5), and shall find the way Isa_52:12. God will open to them a door of escape out of their captivity, and it shall be an effectual door, though there be many adversaries. They shall join themselves to the gospel church, that Mount Zion, that city of the living God, Heb_12:22. They shall come with songs of joy and praise for their deliverance out of Babylon, where they wept upon every remembrance of Zion, Psa_137:1. Those that by faith are made citizens of the gospel Zion may go on their way rejoicing (Act_8:39); they shall sing in the ways of the Lord, and be still praising him. They rejoice in Christ Jesus, and the sorrows and signs of their convictions are made to flee away by the power of divine consolations. Those that mourn are

blessed, for they shall be comforted. 2. To see and enjoy God in the church triumphant; those that walk in the way of holiness, under guidance of their Redeemer, shall come to Zion at last, to the heavenly Zion, shall come in a body, shall all be presented together, faultless, at the coming of Christ's glory with exceeding joy (Jud_1:24; Rev_7:17); they shall come with songs. When God's people returned out of Babylon to Zion they came weeping (Jer_50:4); but they shall come to heaven singing a new song, which no man can learn, Rev_14:3. When they shall enter into the joy of their Lord it shall be what the joys of this world never could be everlasting joy, without mixture, interruption, or period. It shall not only fill their hearts, to their own perfect and perpetual satisfaction, but it shall be upon their heads, as an ornament of grace and a crown of glory, as a garland worn in token of victory. Their joy shall be visible, and no longer a secret thing, as it is here in this world; it shall be proclaimed, to the glory of God and their mutual encouragement. They shall then obtain the joy and gladness which they could never expect on this side heaven; and sorrow and sighing shall flee away for ever, as the shadows of the night before the rising sun. Thus these prophecies, which relate to the Assyrian invasion, conclude, for the support of the people of God under that calamity, and to direct their joy, in their deliverance from it, to something higher. Our joyful hopes and prospects of eternal life should swallow up both all the sorrows and all the joys of this present time.

5. JAMISON, “Language: literally, applying to the return from Babylon; figuratively and more fully to the completed redemption of both literal and spiritual Israel.

joy upon ... heads — (Psa_126:2). Joy manifested in their countenances. Some fancy an allusion to the custom of pouring oil “upon the head,” or wearing chaplets in times of public festivity (Ecc_9:8).

6. COFFMAN, “Isaiah 35:10 is the glorious climax of the whole prophecy. Fortunately, we have a New Testament glimpse of some of those redeemed souls coming unto Zion in these words: "Ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable host of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel" (Hebrews 12:22-24).

This is not a picture of Jews coming back from Babylon, but a picture of sinners (Jews and Gentiles alike) leaving their sins and coming home to God through Christ. May we come with "songs of everlasting joy" upon our heads, as Isaiah here said. Just think, we are the "heirs of all things through Christ!" As an apostle expressed it, "Eye hath not seen, nor has ear heard, and neither has it entered into the heart of man, the good things that God has prepared for them that love him." (1 Corinthians 2:9). This subject was also covered by Isaiah himself in Isaiah 64:4 and Isaiah 65:17.

This writer once preached a sermon on this chapter; and many details of the occasion have remained in his memory ever since. It was preached outdoors in Bowie, Texas, the night of August 15,1935, the night of that day when Will Rogers and Wiley Post were killed in the "Winnie Mae" in Alaska. The response included W. T. Hamilton, one of the greatest preachers of this century, who was baptized that night at the age of 10. Also another was baptized. He was Mose Fowler, the founder of the city of Stoneberg, Texas, and the man whose oil well, "The Mose Fowler No. 1" brought in the Burkburnett Oil Field in the second decade of this century. It was a producer that yielded 365,000 barrels a day at $3,00 a barrel (and there was no income tax)!

7. CALVIN, “10.Therefore the redeemed of Jehovah shall return. The Prophet confirms the former

doctrine, that God hath determined to redeem his people, and therefore that nothing can resist his

decree. He calls them “ redeemed of God,” that they may consider his power, and may not estimate by

human means the promise which he has made about their return. He says also, that they will come to

Zion, because God does not in vain wish to bring them out of Babylon, and to leave them when they have

commenced their journey. At the same time, it ought to be observed, that we have no means of entering

the Church but by the redemption of God; for under the example of the ancient people, a general

representation is placed before our eyes, that we may know that no man is rescued from the tyranny of

the devil, to which we are all subject, till the grace of God go before; for no man will redeem himself. Now,

since this redemption is a gift peculiar to the kingdom of Christ, it follows that he is our only deliverer, as is

also attested by the declaration,

“ the Son shall make you free,

you shall be free indeed.” (Joh_8:36.)

Yet it is not enough that we have once been redeemed; for the design is, that we should dwell in the

Church of God, and make progress from day to day. Since therefore we have been delivered by Christ,

we ought to labor with all our might, and continually to strive to gain that end. If it be said that we do not

need to perform a long journey, in order to be admitted into the Church of God, (for we are received into it

by baptism,) I reply, that here the Prophet discourses metaphorically about the whole course of life;

because the time when” the redeemed of God” shall actually “ to Zion,” is when the course of life is

closed, and they pass into a blessed life. And it ought also to be observed, that the greater the progress

which we make in the grace of God, and the more close our alliance to the Church, the nearer do we

approach to Zion.

And they shall obtain joy and gladness. By the words “ and gladness,” he means that there will be so

great happiness under the reign of Christ, that we shall have abundant reason to rejoice. And indeed the

true and only ground of rejoicing is, to know that we are reconciled to God, whose favor is sufficient for

our perfect happiness, “ that we may glory even in tribulation,” (Rom_5:3;) and, on the other hand, when

Christ does not enlighten us, we must, be darkened by sorrow. Besides, it is certain that the godly do not

rejoice in a proper manner without also expressing grafftude to God; and therefore this spiritual joy must

be distinguished from that ordinary joy in which irreligious men indulge; for the reprobate also rejoice, but

their end at length shews how pernicious is the wantonness of the flesh, which leads them to take delight

in despising God. This kind of “” Paul justly (Rom_14:17; Gal_5:22) calls spiritual; for it does not depend

on fading things, such as honor, property, riches, and other things of that nature which quickly perish; but

this joy is secret and has its seat in the hearts, from which it cannot be shaken or torn away in any

manner, though Satan endeavors by every method to disturb and afflict us; and therefore the Prophet

justly adds —

Sorrow and sighing shall flee away. The joy is everlasting, and all “ flees away;” for although many bitter

griefs are daily endured by the children of God, yet so great is the power and strength of their consolation,

that it swallows up all sorrow. “ glory,” says Paul, “ our tribulations,” (Rom_5:3;) and this glorying cannot

be without joy. The Apostles

“ from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were accounted worthy of suffering dishonor for the

name of Jesus.” (Act_5:41.)

Yet the godly often suffer heavy distresses, and are not exempt from grief. This is undoubtedly true, but

they are not overwhelmed; for they look straight towards God, by whose power they become victorious,

just as if a person, elevated on a lofty mountain, looking at the sun, and enjoying his brightness, beheld

others in a low valley, surrounded by clouds and darkness, whom that brightness could not reach.

8. PULPIT, “Within the gates.

If the two preceding verses may be regarded as descriptive of the Christian pilgrimage, the text may

appropriately be treated as pictorial of the heavenly city in which that journey ends. The language of this

verse suggests to us—

I. THE DISTINGUISHING FEATURE OF THOSE WHO ARE ADMITTED. They are "the ransomed of the

Lord." They were in spiritual bondage: they have been redeemed by a Divine Deliverer; they have been

ransomed at a great price; they have been rescued from the power of their enemies (outward and inward)

and walk in liberty, thankful for what they have escaped from, anticipating the more perfect freedom and

the more excellent estate they are travelling toward.

II. THE SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CITY ITSELF. "Shall come to Zion."

1. It is the very home of God. Jerusalem was "the city of God'—it was the place on earth which he chose

for his manifested presence. There, in a peculiar sense, he abode; there, as in no other city, be was

approached and was worshipped; there, as nowhere else, men felt that they stood in his near presence

and rejoiced in fellowship with him. The heavenly Zion is to be to all who shall be received within its

gates the place where God is, the home of the living and reigning Savior. There we are to be "at home

with the Lord."

2. It is the place of perfect security and of transcendent beauty. The "mountains were round about

Jerusalem," and "beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, was Mount Zion." The heavenly city, of

which it is the earthly type, will prove a home of absolute security, into which no enemy will ever come,

from which temptation and sin are safely barred (see Rev_21:27); and of surpassing beauty and

glory (Rev_21:1, Rev_21:10, Rev_21:11, Rev_21:18, Rev_21:19, Rev_21:23). There shall be everything

which will give pure and inexhaustible delight to all holy souls, to those in whom has been planted and

nourished the appreciation of that which is really beautiful and glorious.

III. THE JOY WHICH WILL ATTEND ADMISSION. They "shall come to Zion with songs." How

transcendent must that moment be when the human soul is assured, by actual sight of the heavenly city,

that immortal glory is his blest estate!

IV. THE FULL AND ABIDING BLESSEDNESS OF THE CELESTIAL HOME. "Everlasting joy f sorrow

and sighing shall flee away." Here are the two grand essentials of perfect blessedness.

1. The absence of all that mars. Here many a "goodly heritage" loses half its value to the possessor of it

by reason of some one serious drawback; it is some bodily infirmity, or it is some grave anxiety, or it is

some keen disappointment, or it is some irreparable loss which, though everything else be fair and fruitful,

makes life seem to have as much of shadow as of sunshine. There, sorrow and sighing shall have fled

away.

2. The presence of lasting and ever-growing joy. Here, with the constitution of our mind and with the

fading of our faculty, pleasure palls, joys fade and disappear. After a few decades life becomes less and

less valuable, until it is felt to be a burden that can ill be borne. There, it is an "everlasting song," and

instead of its strain becoming less tuneful or inspiriting, the enlarging and unfolding powers of our

immortal manhood will make the heavenly life more musical and rapturous as the years and the centuries

are left behind us.—C.

New International Version (NIV)

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