Isaiah 52 commentary

The gospel proclaims liberty to those bound with fears. Let those weary and heavy laden under the burden of sin, find relief in Christ, shake themselves from the dust of their doubts and fears, and loose themselves from those bands. The price paid by the Redeemer for our salvation, was not silver or gold, or corruptible things, but his own precious blood. Considering the freeness of this salvation, and how hurtful to temporal comfort sins are, we shall more value the redemption which is in Christ. Do we seek victory over every sin, recollecting that the glory of God requires holiness in every follower of Christ? The good news is, that the Lord Jesus reigns. Christ himself brought these tidings first. His ministers proclaim these good tidings: keeping themselves clean from the pollutions of the world, they are beautiful to those to whom they are sent. Zion's watchmen could scarcely discern any thing of God's favour through the dark cloud of their afflictions; but now the cloud is scattered, they shall plainly see the performance. Zion's waste places shall then rejoice; all the world will have the benefit. This is applied to our salvation by Christ. Babylon is no place for Israelites. And it is a call to all in the bondage of sin and Satan, to use the liberty Christ has proclaimed. They were to go with diligent haste, not to lose time nor linger; but they were not to go with distrustful haste. Those in the way of duty, are under God's special protection; and he that believes this, will not hasten for fear.

Here begins that wonderful, minute, and faithful description of the office, character, and glory of the Messiah, which has struck conviction to many of the most hardened unbelievers. Christ is Wisdom itself; in the work of our redemption there appeared the wisdom of God in a mystery. Those that saw him, said, Surely never man looked so miserable: never was sorrow like unto his sorrow. But God highly exalted him. That shall be discovered by the gospel of Christ, which could never be told in any other way. And Christ having once shed his blood for sinners, its power still continues. May all opposers see the wisdom of ceasing from their opposition, and be made partakers of the blood of sprinkling, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost; obeying him, and praising his salvation.

CHAPTER 52

Is 52:1-15. First through Thirteen Verses Connected with Fifty-first Chapter.

Zion long in bondage (Is 51:17-20) is called to put on beautiful garments appropriate to its future prosperity.

1. strength--as thy adornment; answering to "beautiful garments" in the parallel clause. Arouse thyself from dejection and assume confidence.

the holy city--(Ne 11:1; Re 21:2).

no more ... unclean--(Is 35:8; 60:21; Joe 3:17; Re 21:27). A prophecy never yet fulfilled.

uncircumcised--spiritually (Eze 44:9; Ac 7:51).

2. from the dust--the seat of mourners (Job 2:12, 13).

arise, and sit--namely, in a more dignified place: on a divan or a throne [Lowth], after having shaken off the dust gathered up by the flowing dress when seated on the ground; or simply, "Arise, and sit erect" [Maurer].

bands of ... neck--the yoke of thy captivity.

3. As you became your foes' servants, without their paying any price for you (Jr 15:13), so they shall release you without demanding any price or reward (Is 45:13), (where Cyrus is represented as doing so: a type of their final restoration gratuitously in like manner). So the spiritual Israel, "sold under sin," gratuitously (Ro 7:14), shall be redeemed also gratuitously (Is 55:1).

4. My people--Jacob and his sons.

went down--Judea was an elevated country compared with Egypt.

sojourn--They went there to stay only till the famine in Canaan should have ceased.

Assyrian--Sennacherib. Remember how I delivered you from Egypt and the Assyrian; what, then, is to prevent Me from delivering you out of Babylon (and the mystical Babylon and the Antichrist in the last days)?

without cause--answering to "for naught" in Is 52:5; it was an act of gratuitous oppression in the present case, as in that case.

5. what have I here--that is, what am I called on to do? The fact "that My people is taken away (into captivity; Is 49:24, 25) for naught" (by gratuitous oppression, Is 52:4; also Is 52:3, and see on Is 52:3) demands My interposition.

they that rule--or "tyrannize," namely, Babylon, literal and mystical.

make ... to howl--or, raise a cry of exultation over them [Maurer].

blasphemed--namely, in Babylon: God's reason for delivering His people, not their goodness, but for the sake of His holy name (Eze 20:9, 14).

6. shall know in that day--when Christ shall reveal Himself to Israel sensibly; the only means whereby their obstinate unbelief shall be overcome (Psa 102:16; Zec 12:10; 14:5).

7. beautiful ... feet--that is, The advent of such a herald seen on the distant "mountains" (see on Is 40:9; Is 41:27; Is 25:6, 7; So 2:17) running in haste with the long-expected good tidings, is most grateful to the desolated city (Na 1:15).

good tidings--only partially applying to the return from Babylon. Fully, and antitypically, the Gospel (Lu 2:10, 11), "beginning at Jerusalem" (Lu 24:47), "the city of the great King" (Mt 5:35), where Messiah shall, at the final restoration of Israel, "reign" as peculiarly Zion's God ("Thy God reigneth"; compare Psa 2:6).

8. watchmen--set on towers separated by intervals to give the earliest notice of the approach of any messenger with tidings (compare Is 21:6-8). The Hebrew is more forcible than English Version, "The voice of thy watchmen" (exclamatory as in So 2:8). "They lift up their voice! together they sing."

eye to eye--that is, close at hand, and so clearly [Gesenius]; Nu 14:14, "face to face"; Nu 12:8, "mouth to mouth." Compare 1Co 13:12; Re 22:4, of which Simeon's sight of the Saviour was a prefiguration (Lu 2:30). The watchmen, spiritually, are ministers and others who pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Is 62:6, 7),

bring again--that is, restore. Or else, "return to" [Maurer].

9. (Is 14:7, 8; 42:11).

redeemed--spiritually and nationally (Is 48:20).

10. made bare ... arm--metaphor from warriors who bare their arm for battle (Eze 4:7).

all ... earth ... see ... salvation of ... God--The deliverance wrought by God for Israel will cause all nations to acknowledge the Lord (Is 66:18-20). The partial fulfilment (Lu 3:6) is a forerunner of the future complete fulfilment.

11. (Is 48:20; Zec 2:6, 7). Long residence in Babylon made many loath to leave it: so as to mystical Babylon (Re 18:4).

ye ... that bear ... vessels of the Lord--the priests and Levites, whose office it was to carry the vessels of the temple (Jr 27:18). Nebuchadnezzar had carried them to Babylon (2Ch 36:18). Cyrus restored them (Ezr 1:7-11).

be ... clean--by separating yourselves wholly from Babylonian idolaters, mystical and literal.

12. not ... with haste--as when ye left Egypt (Ex 12:33, 39; De 16:3; compare Note, see on Is 28:16). Ye shall have time to cleanse yourselves and make deliberate preparation for departure.

Lord--Jehovah, as your Leader in front (Is 40:3; Ex 23:20; Mi 2:13).

rereward--literally, "gather up," that is, to bring up the rear of your host. The transition is frequent from the glory of Messiah in His advent to reign, to His humiliation in His advent to suffer. Indeed, so are both advents accounted one, that He is not said, in His second coming, to be about to return, but to come.

13. Here the fifty-third chapter ought to begin, and the fifty-second chapter end with Is 52:12. This section, from here to end of the fifty-third chapter settles the controversy with the Jews, if Messiah be the person meant; and with infidels, if written by Isaiah, or at any time before Christ. The correspondence with the life and death of Jesus Christ is so minute, that it could not have resulted from conjecture or accident. An impostor could not have shaped the course of events so as to have made his character and life appear to be a fulfilment of it. The writing is, moreover, declaredly prophetic. The quotations of it in the New Testament show: (1) that it was, before the time of Jesus, a recognized part of the Old Testament; (2) that it refers to Messiah (Mt 8:17; Mr 15:28; Lu 22:37; Joh 12:38; Ac 8:28-35; Ro 10:16; 1Pe 2:21-25). The indirect allusions to it still more clearly prove the Messianic interpretation; so universal was that interpretation, that it is simply referred to in connection with the atoning virtue of His death, without being formally quoted (Mr 9:12; Ro 4:25; 1Co 15:3; 2Co 5:21; 1Pe 1:19; 2:21-25; 1Jo 3:5). The genuineness of the passage is certain; for the Jews would not have forged it, since it is opposed to their notion of Messiah, as a triumphant temporal prince. The Christians could not have forged it; for the Jews, the enemies of Christianity, are "our librarians" [Paley]. The Jews try to evade its force by the figment of two Messiahs, one a suffering Messiah (Ben Joseph), the other a triumphant Messiah (Ben David). Hillel maintained that Messiah has already come in the person of Hezekiah. Buxtorf states that many of the modern Rabbins believe that He has been come a good while, but will not manifest Himself because of the sins of the Jews. But the ancient Jews, as the Chaldee paraphrast, Jonathan, refer it to Messiah; so the Medrasch Tauchuma (a commentary on the Pentateuch); also Rabbi Moses Haddarschan (see Hengstenberg, Christology of the Old Testament). Some explain it of the Jewish people, either in the Babylonish exile, or in their present sufferings and dispersion. Others, the pious portion of the nation taken collectively, whose sufferings made a vicarious satisfaction for the ungodly. Others, Isaiah, or Jeremiah [Gesenius], the prophets collectively. But an individual is plainly described: he suffers voluntarily, innocently, patiently, and as the efficient cause of the righteousness of His people, which holds good of none other but Messiah (Is 53:4-6, 9, 11; contrast Jr 20:7; 15:10-21; Psa 137:8, 9). Is 53:9 can hold good of none other. The objection that the sufferings (Is 53:1-10) referred to are represented as past, the glorification alone as future (Is 52:13-15; 53:11, 12) arises from not seeing that the prophet takes his stand in the midst of the scenes which he describes as future. The greater nearness of the first advent, and the interval between it and the second, are implied by the use of the past tense as to the first, the future as to the second.

Behold--awakening attention to the striking picture of Messiah that follows (compare Joh 19:5, 14).

my servant--Messiah (Is 42:1).

deal prudently--rather, "prosper" [Gesenius] as the parallel clause favors (Is 53:10). Or, uniting both meanings, "shall reign well" [Hengstenberg]. This verse sets forth in the beginning the ultimate issue of His sufferings, the description of which follows: the conclusion (Is 53:12) corresponds; the section (Is 52:13; 53:12) begins as it ends with His final glory.

extolled--elevated (Mr 16:19; Ep 1:20-22; 1Pe 3:22).

14-15. Summary of Messiah's history, which is set forth more in detail in the fifty-third chapter. "Just as many were astonished (accompanied with aversion, Jr 18:16; 19:8), &c.; his visage, &c.; so shall He sprinkle," &c.; Israel in this answers to its antitype Messiah, now "an astonishment and byword" (De 28:37), hereafter about to be a blessing and means of salvation to many nations (Is 2:2, 3; Mi 5:7).

thee; his--Such changes of persons are common in Hebrew poetry.

marred--Hebrew, "disfigurement"; abstract for concrete; not only disfigured, but disfigurement itself.

more than man--Castalio translates, "so that it was no longer that of a man" (compare Psa 22:6). The more perfect we may suppose the "body prepared" (He 10:5) for Him by God, the sadder by contrast was the "marring" of His visage and form.

There shall no more come into thee - For יבא yabo, "shall come," לבא lebo, "to come," is the reading of five of Kennicott's and two of De Rossi's MSS. This is the better reading, כי לא יוסיף לבא ki lo yosiph lebo, "There shall not add to come."

The uncircumcised and the unclean - Christians have turned many passages of the prophets against the Jews; and it is not to be wondered at, that in support of their obstinate and hopeless cause, they should press a prophecy into their service, and make it speak against the Christians. This Kimchi does in this place; for he says, by the uncircumcised, the Christians are meant; and by the unclean the Turks. The Christians are uncircumcised and the Turks, though circumcised, and using many ablutions, are unclean in their works.

Sit down, O Jerusalem "Ascend thy lofty seat, O Jerusalem" - The literal rendering here is, according to our English translation, "arise, sit;" on which a very learned person remarks: "So the old versions. But sitting is an expression of mourning in Scripture and the ancients; and doth not well agree with the rising just before." It does not indeed agree, according to our ideas; but, considered in an oriental light, it is perfectly consistent. The common manner of sitting in the eastern countries is upon the ground or the floor with the legs crossed. The people of better condition have the floors of their chambers or divans covered with carpets for this purpose; and round the chamber broad couches, raised a little above the floor, spread with mattresses handsomely covered, which are called sofas. When sitting is spoken of as a posture of more than ordinary state, it is quite of a different kind; and means sitting on high, on a chair of state or throne called the musnud; for which a footstool was necessary, both in order that the person might raise himself up to it, and for supporting the legs when he was placed in it. "Chairs," says Sir John Chardin, "are never used in Persia, but at the coronation of their kings. The king is seated in a chair of gold set with jewels, three feet high. The chairs which are used by the people in the east are always so high as to make a footstool necessary. And this proves the propriety of the style of Scripture, which always joins the footstool to the throne." (Isa 66:1; Psa 105:1.) Voyages, tom. 9 p. 85, 12mo. Besides the six steps to Solomon's throne, there was a footstool of gold fastened to the seat, 2Chr 9:18, which would otherwise have been too high for the king to reach, or to sit on conveniently.

When Thetis comes to wait on Vulcan to request armor for her son, she is received with great respect, and seated on a silver-studded throne, a chair of ceremony, with a footstool: - Την μεν επειτα καθεισεν επι θρονου αργυροηλου, Καλου, δαιδαλεου· ὑπο δε θρηνυς ποσιν ηεν.

Iliad 18:389. "High on a throne, with stars of silver graced,

And various artifice, the queen she placed;

A footstool at her feet."

Pope. Ὁ γαρ θρονος αυτος μονον ελευθεριος εστι καθεδρα συν ὑποποδιῳ.

Athenaeus, 5:4. "A throne is n othing more than a handsome sort of chair with a footstool." - L.

Thus saith the Lord God - אדני יהוה Adonai Jehovah; but Adonai is wanting in twelve of Kennicott's, five of De Rossi's, and two of my own MSS.; and by the Septuagint and Arabic. Some MSS. have יהוה צבאות Jehovah tsebaoth, "Lord of hosts;" and others have יהוה אלהים Yehovah Elohim, "Lord God."

They that rule over them "They that are lords over them" - For משלו moshelo, singular, in the text, more than a hundred and twenty MSS. (De Rossi says, codices innumeri, "numberless copies") have משליו moshelaiv plural, according to the Masoretical correction in the margin; which shows that the Masoretes often superstitiously retained apparent mistakes in the text, even when they had sufficient evidence to authorize the introduction of the true reading.

Make them to howl "Make their boast of it" - For יהילילו yeheililu, "make them to howl," five MSS., (two ancient), have יהללו yehalelu, "make their boast;" which is confirmed by the Chaldee paraphrast, who renders it משתבחין mishtabbechin. Ulaloo is not only the cry itself, but also the name of the funeral song of the Irish. The Arabs have a cry very much resembling this.

Therefore my people shall know - The word לכן lachen, occurring the second time in this verse, seems to be repeated by mistake. It has no force nor emphasis as a repetition; it only embarrasses the construction and the sense. It was not in the copies from which the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate were translated; it was not in the copy of the Septuagint from which the Arabic was translated; but in the Aldine and Complutensian editions δια τουτο is repeated; probably so corrected, in order to make it conformable with the Hebrew text.

I am he that Moth speak "I am he, Jehovah, that promised" - For הוא hu, the Bodleian MS. and another have יהוה, Jehovah; "For I am Jehovah that promised;" and another ancient MS. adds יהוה Jehovah after הוא hu. The addition of Jehovah seems to be right in consequence of what was said in the preceding line, "My people shall know my name."

How beautiful - The watchmen discover afar off, on the mountains, the messenger bringing the expected and much-wished-for news of the deliverance from the Babylonish captivity. They immediately spread the joyful tidings, Isa 52:8, and with a loud voice proclaim that Jehovah is returning to Zion, to resume his residence on his holy mountain, which for some time he seemed to have deserted. This is the literal sense of the place. "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the joyful messenger," is an expression highly poetical: for, how welcome is his arrival! how agreeable are the tidings which he brings!

Nahum, Nah 1:15, who is generally supposed to have lived after Isaiah, has manifestly taken from him this very pleasing image; but the imitation does not equal the beauty of the original: - "Behold upon the mountain the feet of the joyful messenger,

Of him that announceth peace!

Celebrate, O Judah, thy festivals; perform thy vows:

For no more shall pass through thee the wicked one;

He is utterly cut off."

But it must at the same time be observed that Isaiah's subject is infinitely more interesting and more sublime than that of Nahum; the latter denounces the destruction of the capital of the Assyrian empire, the most formidable enemy of Judah; the ideas of the former are in their full extent evangelical; and accordingly St. Paul has, with the utmost propriety, applied this passage to the preaching of the Gospel, Rom 10:15. The joyful tidings here to be proclaimed, "Thy God, O Zion, reigneth, "are the same that John the Baptist, the messenger of Christ, and Christ himself, published: "The kingdom of heaven is at hand."

From the use made of this by our Lord and the apostles, we may rest assured that the preachers of the Gospel are particularly intended. Mountains are put for the whole land of Judea, where the Gospel was first preached. There seems to be an allusion to a battle fought, and the messengers coming to announce the victory, which was so decisive that a peace was the consequence, and the king's throne established in the land.

There appear to have been two sorts of messengers among the Jews: one sort always employed to bring evil tidings; the other to bring good. The names also and persons of these different messengers appear to have been well known; so that at a distance they could tell, from seeing the messenger, what sort of tidings he was bringing. See a case in point, 2Sam 18:19-27 (note). Ahimaaz and Cushi running to bring tidings of the defeat of Absalom and his rebel army. Ahimaaz is a Good man and bringeth Good tidings.

Thy watchmen lift up the voice "All thy watchmen lift up their voice" - There is a difficulty in the construction of this place which, I think, none of the ancient versions or modern interpreters have cleared up satisfactorily. Rendered word for word it stands thus: "The voice of thy watchmen: they lift up their voice." The sense of the first member, considered as elliptical, is variously supplied by various expositors; by none, as it seems to me, in any way that is easy and natural. I am persuaded there is a mistake in the present text, and that the true reading is כל צפיך col tsophayich, all thy watchmen, instead of קול צפיך kol tsophayich, the voice of thy watchmen. The mistake was easy from the similitude in sound of the two letters כ caph and ק koph. And in one MS. the ק koph is upon a rasure. This correction perfectly rectifies the sense and the construction. - L.

They shall see eye to eye - May not this be applied to the prophets and apostles; the one predicting, and the other discovering in the prediction the truth of the prophecy. The meaning of both Testaments is best understood by bringing them face to face.

When the Lord shall bring again Zion "When Jehovah returneth to Zion" - So the Chaldee: כד יתיב שכנתיה לציון cad yethib shechinteih letsiyon, "when he shall place the shechinah in Zion." God is considered as having deserted his people during the captivity; and at the restoration, as returning himself with them to Zion, his former habitation. See Psa 60:1; Isa 40:9, and note.

He hath redeemed Jerusalem "He hath redeemed Israel" - For the word ירושלם yerushalaim, which occurs the second time in this verse, MS. Bodleian and another read ישראל yisrael. It is upon a rasure in a third; and left unpointed at first, as suspected, in a fourth. It was an easy mistake, by the transcriber casting his eye on the line above: and the propriety of the correction, both in regard to sense and elegance, is evident.

Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence - The Prophet Jeremiah seems to have had his eye on this passage of Isaiah, and to have applied it to a subject directly opposite. It is here addressed by the prophet in a way of encouragement and exhortation to the Jews coming out of Babylon. Jeremiah has given it a different turn, and has thrown it out, as a reproach of the heathen upon the Jews when they were driven from Jerusalem into captivity: - "Depart; ye are polluted, depart; depart ye, forbear to touch.

Yea, they are fled, they are removed: they shall dwell here no more." Lam 4:15.

Of the metrical distribution of these lines, see the Prelim. Dissert., p. 58 note.

My servant shall deal prudently - ישכיל yaskil, shall prosper, or act prosperously. The subject of Isaiah's prophecy, from the fortieth chapter inclusive, has hitherto been, in general, the deliverance of the people of God. This includes in it three distinct parts; which, however, have a close connection with one another; that is,

1. The deliverance of the Jews from the captivity of Babylon;

2. The deliverance of the Gentiles from their miserable state of ignorance and idolatry; and,

3. The deliverance of mankind from the captivity of sin and death.

These three subjects are subordinate to one another; and the two latter are shadowed out under the image of the former. They are covered by it as by a veil; which however is transparent, and suffers them to appear through it.

Cyrus is expressly named as the immediate agent of God in effecting the first deliverance. A greater person is spoken of as the Agent who is to effect the two latter deliverances, called the servant, the elect, of God, in whom his soul delighteth; Israel, in whom God will be glorified. Now these three subjects have a very near relation to one another; for as the Agent who was to effect the two latter deliverances, - that is, the Messiah, - was to be born a Jew, with particular limitations of time, family, and other circumstances; the first deliverance was necessary in the order of providence, and according to the determinate counsel of God, to the accomplishment of the two latter deliverances; and the second deliverance was necessary to the third, or rather was involved in it, and made an essential part of it. This being the case, Isaiah has not treated the three subjects as quite distinct and separate in a methodical and orderly manner, like a philosopher or a logician, but has taken them in their connective veiw. He has handled them as a prophet and a poet; he has allegorized the former, and under the image of it has shadowed out the two latter: he has thrown them all together, has mixed one with another, has passed from this to that with rapid transitions, and has painted the whole with the strongest and boldest imagery. The restoration of the Jews from captivity, the call of the Gentiles, the redemption by Messiah, have hitherto been handled interchangeably and alternately. Babylon has hitherto been kept pretty much in sight; at the same time, that strong intimations of something much greater have frequently been thrown in. But here Babylon is at once dropped, and I think hardly ever comes in sight again; unless perhaps in Isa 55:12, and Isa 57:14. The prophet's views are almost wholly engrossed by the superior part of his subject. He introduces the Messiah as appearing at first in the lowest state of humiliation, which he had just touched upon before, (Isa 50:5, Isa 50:6), and obviates the offense which would be occasioned by it, by declaring the important and necessary cause of it, and foreshowing the glory which should follow it.

This seems to me to be the nature and the true design of this part of Isaiah's prophecies; and this view of them seems to afford the best method of resolving difficulties, in which expositors are frequently engaged, being much divided between what is called the literal and the mystical sense, not very properly; for the mystical or spiritual sense is very often the most literal sense of all.

Abarbanel seems to have had an idea of this kind, as he is quoted by Vitringa on Isa 49:1, who thus represents his sentiments: Censet Abarbanel prophetam hic transitum facere a liberatione ex exilio Babylonico ad liberationem ex exilio Romano; et, quod hic animadversu dignum est, observat liberationem ex exilio Babylonico esse אות וראיה oth veraayah, signum et argumentum liberationis futurae; atque adeo orationem prophetae de duabus hisce liberationibus in superioribus concionibus saepe inter se permisceri. Verba ejus: "Et propterea verba, sive res, in prophetic superiore inter se permixtae occurrunt; modo de liberatione Babylonica, modo de liberatione extrema accipiendae, ut orationis necessitas exigit." Nullum hic vitium, nisi quod redemptionem veram et spiritualem a Messia vero Jesu adductam, non agnoscat. "Abarbanel supposes that the prophet here makes a transition from the deliverance from the Babylonish captivity to the deliverance from the Roman captivity; and (which is worthy of particular note) he observes that the deliverance from the Babylonish captivity is a sign and pledge of the future redemption; and that on this account it is we find in the preceding prophecies the circumstances of the two captivities intimately blended together. His words are the following: 'And, therefore, the words or subjects in the foregoing prophecy are very much intermixed; in one passage the redemption from the Babylonish captivity being treated of, in another the redemption from the general dispersion, as may be collected from the obvious import of the words.' No fault can be found with the above remark, except that the true and spiritual redemption procured by Jesus the Messiah is not acknowledged." - L.

As many were astonished at thee "As many were astonished at him" - For עליך aleicha read עליו alaiv. So the Syriac, Chaldee, and Vulgate in a MS.; and so likewise two ancient MSS.

His visage was so marred more than any man - Most interpreters understand this of the indignities offered to our blessed Lord: but Kimchi gives it another turn, and says, "It means the Jewish people, whom are considered by most nations as having an appearance different from all the people of the earth. "Poor Jews! they have in general a very disagreeable look, partly affected, and partly through neglect of neatness and cleanliness. Most Christians think they carry the impress of their reprobation on every feature of their face. However this may be, it should never be forgotten that the greatest men that ever flourished as kings, judges, magistrates, lawgivers, heroes, and poets, were of Jewish extraction. Isaiah was a Jew; so was Paul, and so was Jesus of Nazareth.

So shall he sprinkle many nations - I retain the common rendering, though I am by no means satisfied with it. "יזה yazzeh, frequent in the law, means only to sprinkle: but the water sprinkled is the accusative case; the thing on which has על al or אל el. Θαυμασονται, ό, makes the best apodosis. ינהג yenahag would do. ינהרו yinharu is used Isa 2:2; Jer 31:12; Jer 51:14, but is unlike. 'Kings shall shut,' etc., is good, but seems to want a first part." - Secker. Munster translates it, faciet loqui, (de se); and in his note thus explains it: יזה yazzeh proprie significat spargere et stillas disseminare; hic hero capitur pro loqui, et verbum disseminare. "יזה yazzeh properly signifies to sprinkle, and to scatter about drops; but it here means to speak, and to disseminate the word." This is pretty much as the Rabbins Kimchi and Sal. ben Belec explain it, referring to the expression of "dropping the word." But the same objection lies to this as to the common rendering; it ought to be על גוים(דבר)יזה yazzeh (debar) al goyim. Bishop Chandler, Defence, p. 148, says, "that to sprinkle is used for to surprise and astonish, as people are that have much water thrown upon them. And this sense is followed by the Septuagint." This is ingenious, but rather too refined. Dr. Duress conjectures that the true reading may be יהזו yechezu, they shall regard, which comes near to the θαυμασονται of the Septuagint, who seem to give the best sense of any to this place. "I find in my papers the same conjecture which Dr. Durell made from θαυμασονται in the Septuagint. And it may be added that חזה chazah is used to express 'looking on any thing with admiration,' Psa 11:7; Psa 17:15; Psa 27:4; Psa 63:2; Sol 6:13. It is particularly applied to 'looking on God,' Exo 24:11, and Job 19:26. Gisbert Cuper, in Observ. lib. Job 2:1, though treating on another subject, has some observations which show how nearly ὁραω and θαυμαζω are allied, which, with the peculiar sense of the verb חזה chazah above noted, add to the probability of θαυμασονται being the version of יחזו yechezu in the text: οἱ δε νυ λαοι Παντες ες αυτον ὁρωσι. Hesiod., id est. cum veneratione quadam adminantur. Hinc ὁραω et θαυμαζω junxit Themistius Or. 1: Ειτα παυσονται οἱ ανθρωποι προς σε μονον ὁρωνες, και σε μονον θαυμαζοντες. Theophrastus in Charact. c. 3. Ενθυμη ὡς αποβλεπουσιν εις σε οἱ ανθρωποι. Hence the rendering of this verse seems to be - "So many nations shall look on him with admiration

Kings shall stop their mouths."

Dr. Jubb.

Does not sprinkling the nations refer to the conversion and baptism of the Gentiles? Many nations shall become proselytes to his religion.

Kings shall shut their mouths at him - His Gospel shall so prevail that all opposition shall be finally overcome; and kings and potentates shall be overwhelmed with confusion, and become speechless before the doctrines of his truth. When they hear these declared they shall attentively consider them, and their conviction of their truth shall be the consequence.

For that which had not been told them - The mystery of the Gospel so long concealed. See Rom 15:21; Rom 16:25.

Shall they see - With the eyes of their faith; God enlightening both organ and object.

And that which they had not heard - The redemption of the world by Jesus Christ; the conversion of the Gentiles, and making them one flock with the converted Jews. - Trapp

Awake - This is a prediction and promise what she should do, that she should awake or arise out of her low estate, and be strong and courageous. Beautiful garments - Thy sorrows shall be ended, and thou shalt be advanced into a glorious condition. O Zion - O my church. Come - Either to molest thee, or defile thee. The uncircumcised - Heathens or infidels. Unclean - Nor any others, who are unholy.

The dust - In which thou hast sat as a mourner. The bands - The yoke of thy captivity shall be taken off from thee.

Sold yourselves - By your sins, without any valuable consideration paid by them either to you, or to your Lord and owner. Without money - Without paying any ransom.

Egypt - Where they had protection and sustenance, and therefore owed subjection to the king of Egypt. And yet when he oppressed them, I punished him severely, and delivered them out of his hands. The Assyrian - The king of Babylon, who is called the king of Assyria, 2Kings 23:29, as also the Persian emperor is called, Ezra 6:22, because it was one and the same empire which was possessed, first by the Assyrians, then by the Babylonians, and afterwards by the Persians. Without cause - Without any such ground or colour, by mere force invading their land, and carrying them away into captivity.

What have I - Why do I sit still here, and not go to Babylon to punish the Babylonians, and to deliver my people? For nought - Without any provocation, or pretence of right. Howl - By their unmerciful usage. Blasphemed - The Babylonians blasphemed me as if I wanted either power or good will to save my people out of their hands.

Shall know - They shall experience my power and goodness in fighting for them. In that day - When I shall redeem my people: which work was begun by the return of the Jews from Babylon, and perfected by the coming of the Messiah. Behold - That all these promises are the words of the omnipotent, unchangeable God.

The mountains - Of Judea, to which these glad tidings were brought, and from which they were spread abroad into other countries. Of him - Or, of them; the singular number being put for the plural. Returneth - In the days of the Messiah, God did discover and exercise his dominion over the world far more eminently than ever he had done from the beginning of the world until that time.

Thy watchmen - Thy ministers, who descry the approach of this heavenly king. Lift up thy voice - To give notice to all people of these glad tidings; and by way of exultation, to sing forth the praises of God for this glorious day. Eye - Distinctly and familiarly, their eyes beholding the eyes of this king of glory. They shall be eye and ear - witnesses of the words and works of Christ, and therefore their testimony shall be more certain and valuable. Bring again - When God shall complete the work of bringing his church out of captivity.

Depart - Out of Babylon. Touch - Carry not along with you any of their superstitions or idolatries. Ye - And especially your priests and Levites, who minister in holy things, and carry the holy vessels of the temple, keep yourselves from all pollution.

Not by flight - But securely, and in triumph, being conducted by your great captain the Lord of hosts. Rereward - So that none shall be able either to oppose you in your march, or to fall upon you in the rear.

Behold - This is the beginning of a new prophecy, which is continued from hence to the end of the next chapter. My servant - That it is Christ who is here spoken of, is so evident, that the Chaldee paraphrast, and other ancient, and some later Hebrew doctors, understand it directly of him, and that divers Jews have been convinced and converted to the Christian faith, by the evidence of this prophecy. Prosper - This is fitly put in the first place to prevent those scandals which otherwise might arise from the succeeding passages, which describe his state of humiliation. Very high - Here are three words signifying the same thing to express the height and glory of his exaltation.

Astonished - At his humiliation. Thee - At thee, O my servant. His form - Christ, in respect of his birth, breeding, and manner of life, was most obscure and contemptible. His countenance also was so marred with frequent watchings, and fastings, and troubles, that he was thought to be near fifty years old when he was but about thirty, John 8:57, and was farther spoiled with buffetings, and crowning with thorns, and other cruel and despiteful usages.

So - His exaltation shall be answerable to his humiliation. Sprinkle - With his word or doctrine; which being often compared to rain or water, may be said to be sprinkled, as it is said to be dropped, Deut 32:2 Ezek 20:46. Kings - Shall be silent before him out of profound humility, reverence, and admiration of his wisdom. For - They shall hear from his mouth many excellent doctrines, which will be new and strange to them. And particularly that comfortable doctrine of the salvation of the Gentiles, which was not only new to them, but strange and incredible to the Jews themselves.

1 AWake, awake, put on thy strength , O Zion, put on thy beautiful garments , O Jerusalem, the holy city : for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised , and the unclean .

God biddeth his Church do that which she intreated him to do, ch. 51. 9. And because Gods word is operative, and effectual, and his sayings are doings, this is a prediction and promise what she should do, that she should awake or arise out of her low estate, and be strong and courageous.

Thy sorrows shall be ended, and thou shalt be advanced into a most glorious and blessed condition.

O my Church, which is every where called by the name of Zion or Ierusalem.

Either to molest thee, or to associate themselves with thee: or to defile or corrupt thee.

Heathens, or Infidels, who are commonly called uncircumcised.

Nor any others, who though they be circumcised, as the Jews generally were, are unclean in any thing. Whereby he intimates that there should be a greater purity and Reformation in the Church than formerly there had been, which was eminently accomplished in the Church and Kingdom of Christ.

Marginal references: Ch. 51. 17.

2 Shake thy self from the dust : arise, and sit down , O Jerusalem: loose thy self from the bands of thy neck , O captive daughter of Zion▪

In which thou hast lain as a Prisoner, or [illegible: 1+ letters]ate as a mourner.

Upon thy Throne. Or, sit up, as this word is rendred, Gen. 27. 19.

The yoke of thy captivity shall be taken off from thee. It is a Metaphor from Beasts that have the yoke fastened by bands to their necks.

3 For thus saith the LORD, ye have sold your selves for nought , and ye shall be redeemed without money .

By your sins, into the hands of the Chaldeans.

Without any price or valuable consideration paid by them either to you, or to me your Lord and owner.

Without paying any ransom.

Marginal references: Ps. 44. 12. Ch. 45. 13. Jer. 15. 13.

4 For thus [illegible: 1+ letters]aith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there , and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause .

Where they had protection and sustenance, and therefore owed subjection to the King of Egypt. And yet when he oppressed them I punished him severely, and delivered them out of his hands. Which is easily understood from the following words.

Or, but; for here is an opposition made between these two cases.

The King of Babylon, who is called the King of Assyria, 2 Kin. 23. 29. compared with ch. 24. 7. as also the Persian Emperour is called, Ezra 6. 22. because it was one and the same Empire which was possessed, first by the Assyrians, then by the Babylonians, and afterwards by the Persians.

Without any such ground or color, by meer force invading their Land, and carrying them away into Captivity. For although it be said that God gave this Land and People into his hand, 2 Chr. 36. 17. by his Counsel and Providence, yet that was neither known to, nor regarded by the King of Babylon, nor was it a good and lawful Title, Gods Word, and not his Providence, being the rule by which Mens rights are determined; otherwise a Robber hath a right to my purse, which he cannot take from me upon the high-way without Gods Providence.

Marginal references: Gen. 46. 6.; Jer. 50. 17.

5 Now therefore, what have I here , saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought ? they that rule over them , make them to howl saith the LORD, and my name continually every day is blasphemed .

Heb. What to me here? The sense is either 1. What do I here? Why do I sit still here, and not to go to Babylon to punish the Babylonians, and to deliver my People? Or 2. What honour have I by suffering this injury to be done to my People?

Were carried away Captive by the Babylonians.

Without any provocation or pretence of right. See before on v. 3.

Who by their Office are obliged to deal justly and tenderly with their subjects.

By their tyrannical and unmerciful usage of them.

In stead of that praise and service which the Babylonians owe me for all their successes and Conquests, they blaspheme me as if I wanted either Power or Goodwill to save my People out of their hands.

Marginal references: Ezek. 36. 20, 23. Rom. 2. 24.

6 Therefore my people shall know my name : therefore they shall know in that day , that I am he that doth speak, behold, it is I .

They shall have sensible Experience of my infinite power and goodness in fighting for them and against you: whereby they shall be able to put your blasphemous Tongues to silence.

Which word is understood from the foregoing clause, as is very frequent in Scripture.

When I shall redeem my People: which work was begun by the return of the Jews from Babylon, and afterwards carried on, and at last perfected by the coming of the Messiah.

That all these promises are not the words of a weak, or fickle, or deceitful man, but of him who is the Omnipotent, and Unchangeable, and Covenant-keeping God. Or thus, That I who have formerly spoken to you by my servants the Prophets, (for it was the Spirit of Christ which was and spake in them, 1 Pet. 1. 11▪) do now speak to you in my own person, being cloathed with flesh. Which agrees well, as with the Analogy of Faith, and with divers other Scriptures, so particularly with the next verse, and with divers following passages, which so evidently speak of the person and Kingdom of Christ, that they cannot without great force be understood of any other.

7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation , that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth .

These are words of rejoicing and admiration. They are exceeding precious and acceptable.

Of Zion, and Moriah, which are somtimes mentioned as one Mountain, and sometimes as two. Or, in the mountainous Country of Iudaea, to which these glad tidings were brought, and from which they were spread abroad into other Countries.

Which carry this welcome messenger, or the messenger himself.

Or, of them. For the singular number is o[illegible: 1+ letters]t put for the plural: although it may be here emphatically used, to signifie that although there were many Messengers, yet one was the chief, and Lord of the Embassy, whose coming was more acceptable than the rest: which suits excellently to the Messiah, who is called the messenger of the Covenant▪ Mal. 3. 1. and is oft said to be sent by God, as Io[illegible: 1+ letters]. 6. 38. & 8. 16, 18. &c. to publish the glad tidings of Salvation.

Those emphatical and repeated Expressions are a sufficient evidence, that somthing further and better is here intended than their deliverance out of Babylon, which in itself was but a very imperfect work, and reached at first but to a few of that numerous People, and was attended with many fears, and sorrows, and remainders of their bondage, Ezra 9. 8, 9. Ne[illegible: 1+ letters]em. 1. 3. and that although that was the beginning of these glad tidings, yet they extended much further even to the coming of Christ, by whom alone true Peace and Salvation were procured.

It is true, this might in some sort be said when God so over-ruled the affairs of the World, and the heart of Cyrus, that his People were freed from the Babylonish Captivity and restored into and setled in their own Land. Although he that considers the state of Gods People in their own Land after their return will find that the reign of God in and over the World was not then either very conspicuous or glorious. And therefore it seems far more reasonable to understand it of the days of the Messiah, when God did discover and exercise his dominion over the World far more eminently than ever he had done from the beginning of the World until that time.

Marginal references: Nah. 1. 15. Rom. 10. 15.

8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice , with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye , when the LORD shall bring again Zion .

Thy Ministers who shall descry the approach and coming of this heavenly King and Kingdom.

Partly to give notice to all People of these glad tidings; and partly by way of exultation, to sing forth the Praises of God for this glorious day and Mercy, as it here follows.

They shall understand, and so be able to teach Divine Mysteries.

Very distinctly, and clearly, and familiarly, their Eyes beholding the Eyes of this King of Glory, as it is said of Zedekiah, Jer. 34. 3. Thine Eyes shall behold the Eyes of the King of Babylon; and as it is said, Mouth to Mouth, Numb. 12. 8. and Face to Face▪ Gen. 32. 30. Exod. 33. 11. Numb. 14. 14. They shall see with their bodily Eyes the King of the Church, or the Word made Flesh, as they are said to have done, Io[illegible: 1+ letters]. 1. 14. & 1 Ioh. 1. 1. They shall be Eye and Ear-witnesses of the Words and Works of Christ, and therefore their Testimony of these things shall be more certain and valuable.

When God shall compleat the work of bringing his Church out of Captivity; which was begun at the return out of Babylon, and perfected by Christs coming into the World.

9 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem : for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.

For you shall be restored unto your former, and a far greater, fertility.

Marginal references: Ch. 49. 13. & 55. 12.

10 The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God .

Hath discovered and put forth his great power, which for a long time hath lain hid, and seemed to be idle.

All Nations of the World shall with astonishment behold the wonderful Work of God, first in bringing his People out of Babylon, and afterwards in their Redemption by Christ.

Marginal references: Ps. 98. 2. Luk. 3. 6.

11 Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence , touch no unclean thing , go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD .

Make haste, O ye banished [illegible: 1+ letters]ews, to depart out of Babylon into your own Land, that there I may meet with you, and bless you, and perform those further and greater things which I have promised there to do for you. And this invitation was the more necessary, because God foresaw that a great number of the Jews would upon worldly considerations continue in those forein Countrys in which they were settled, and be very backward to return to the Holy Land

And when you go thence, take heed that you carry not along with you any of their Superstitions or Idolatries, but purifie and prepare your selves, that so God may return to you in mercy, when you return into your own Lands.

And especially you Priests and Levites, whose Office it is to minister in holy things, and to carry back the holy Vessels of the Temple, keep your selves from all pollution.

Marginal references: Ch. 48. 20. 2 Cor. 6. 17. Rev. 18. 4.

12 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight : for the LORD will go before you: and the God of Israel will be your rereward .

But securely, and in triumph, being conducted by your great Captain the Lord of Hosts. And therefore you will have both the greater Obligation, and the more leisure and opportunity to cleanse your selves from all filthiness.

So that none shall be able either to oppose and stop you in your march, or to fall upon you in the rear, as Enemies commonly do.

Marginal references: Heb. gather you up.

13 Behold , my servant shall deal prudently , he shall be exalted, and extolled, and be very high .

This is the beginning of a new Prophecy, which is continued from hence to the end of the next Chapter; and therefore it is well observed by divers, both ancient and modern Interpreters, that the Fifty and Third Chapter should have begun here.

Qu. Of whom doth the Prophet here speak? It is apparent that these three last verses of this Chapter, and all the following Chapter speak of one and the same person. And that that Person is Christ is so evident, that the Chaldee Paraphrast, and other ancient, and some later Hebrew Doctors, understand it directly of him, and that divers Jews have been convinced and converted to the Christian Faith by the evidence of this Prophecy. And there is not a verse in this whole context which doth not afford a clear and convincing proof of this truth, as we shall see. And there needs no other Argument to confirm it, than the variety and vanity of the pretended Expositions of the Jews, who use all possible Wit and Art to wrest all these passages to other persons. Those who would seem wiser than the rest, and consute the other Expositions of their Brethren, understand it either of the Jewish People in general, or of the Prophet Ieremiah in particular. But both these conceits are so groundless and absurd, that there is scarce a verse but consutes them, as we shall clearly discern in the Exposition of them. And therefore other Jews reject them both, and understand it of Abraham, or Moses, or Iosiah, or Ezra, or Zorobab[illegible: 1+ letters]l; and they might as well have named Twenty persons more, to whom this place might be applied upon as good grounds as to any of these. But there is not one clause in all this context which is not most truly and fitly applied to Christ, as I shall make apparent, step by step. And first this Title of Gods Servant is in an eminent and peculiar manner given to Christ in this very Pophecy, as Isa. 42. 1. & 49. 6. & 53. 11. & Ezek. 34. 23. Zech. 3. 8.

Shall manage his Kingdom with admirable Wisdom. Or, shall prosper, as it is in the margent, and as this word is frequently rendred, and particularly in this very case, and of this same person, Ier. 23. 5. Which also seems best to agree with the following clause, and with chap. 53. 10, 11. And this intimation concerning the future prosperity and advancement of the Messiah, is fitly put in the first place to prevent those scandals which otherwise might arise from the succeeding passages which largely describe his state of Humiliation and deep affliction.

Here are three words signifying the same thing to express the Height and Glory of his Exaltation. Which agrees most fitly to Christ, but cannot without great force be applied to Ieremiah, who had no greater honour or favour done him by the Chaldeans at the taking of Ierusalem, than to be left at liberty to go where he pleased, Ier. 40. 4. and who after that time met with great contempt and hardship from his own Countrey-men, Ier. 42, and 43, and 44.

Marginal references: Or, prosper.

14 As many were astonied at thee ; (his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men )

Were struck with wonder, either 1. At his glorious Endowments, and the Excellency and Power of his Doctrine, and his miraculous works. Or rather 2. At his great Deformity, and stupendious Humiliation and calamity, as may be gathered, both from the following words, and from the use of this word in Scripture, which is generally used in a bad sense, or of wondring at some extraordinary evil, as Ier. 18. 16. & 19. 8. and oft elsewhere, and never in a good sense, or of wondring at any thing which is extraordinarily good.

At thee, O my Servant, to whom he now turneth his speech, and then turneth his speech from him, and speaks of him in the next words; such sudden changes of Persons, and speaking of one and the same Man, somtimes in one person, and then presently in another, being very frequent in the Writings of the Prophets, as we have already seen in divers instances.

He was more deformed or uncomely than any other man. Which was undoubtedly verified in Christ, who in respect of his Birth, and Breeding, and manner of Life, was most obscure and contemptible, and therefore said to be a worm, and no man, a reproach of men, and despised of the people▪ Psal. 22. 6. who was more hated and vilified by the generality of the Jews, than any man upon Earth, and was accounted and called by them a Deceiver, a Samaritan, a Blasphemer, and a Devil, &c. whose Countenance also was so marred with frequent Watchings, and Fastings, and Troubles, that he was thought to be near Fifty Years old when he was but about Thirty, Io[illegible: 1+ letters]. 8. 57. and was farther spoiled with buffe[illegible: 1+ letters]ings, and crowning with Thorns, and other cruel and despightful usages from men, and with the deep and continual sense of the burden of mens sins, and of Gods displeasure due unto them; all which did not only oppress his spirit, but had a great influence upon the very constitution of his Body.

Marginal references: Ch. 53. 3,

15 So shall he sprinkle many nations, the kings shall shut their mouths at him : for that which had not been told them shall they see , and that which they had not heard shall they consider .

His Exaltation shall be answerable to his Humiliation.

Either 1. With his Blood, which is called, the blood of sprinkling, Heb. 12. 24. or, shall justifie them, as it follows, Isa. 53. 11. which is frequently expressed by washing▪ as Psal. 51. 2, 7. Ezek. 16. 9. and by sprinkling clean water, Ezek. 36. 25. Or 2. With his Word or Doctrine; which being oft compared to Rain or Waters, as Deut. 32. 2. Isa. 55. 10, 11. Habak. 2. 14. &c. may be said to be sprinkled, as it is said to be dropped, Deut. 32. 2. Ezek. 20. 46. & 21. 2. And this sense seems to be most favoured by the following words.

Shall be silent before him out of a profound Humility, and Reverence, and Admiration of his Wisdom, and an eager desire to hear and receive Counsels and Oracles from his Mouth. Compare Iob 29. 9, 10, 11, 21. They shall no more contend with him, nor blaspheme the true God and Religion, as they formerly used to do.

For they shall hear from his Mouth many excellent Doctrines, which also will be new and strange to them, such as Men are very desirous to hear. And particularly they shall hear from him that comfortable Doctrine concerning the Conversion and Salvation of the Gentiles, which was not only new to them▪ but was strange and incredible to the most of the Jews themselves.

Or, they shall understand. Which is added to shew that the seeing in the former clause was meant of discerning these things with the Eyes of their Minds.

Marginal references: Rom. 15. 21.

Isa 52:1-2

The same call, which was addressed in Isa 51:9 to the arm of Jehovah that was then represented as sleeping, is here addressed to Jerusalem, which is represented as a sleeping woman. “Awake, awake; clothe thyself in thy might, O Zion; clothe thyself in thy state dresses, O Jerusalem, thou holy city: for henceforth there will no more enter into thee one uncircumcised and unclean! Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the chains of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion!” Jerusalem is lying upon the ground stupefied with the wrath of God, and exhausted with grief; but this shameful prostration and degradation will now come to an end. She is to rise up and put on her might, which has long been broken down, and apparently has altogether disappeared, but which can and must be constantly renewed, because it rests upon the foundation of an inviolable promise. She is to wake up and recover her ancient power, and put on her state robes, i.e., her priestly and royal ornaments, which belong to her as a “royal city,” i.e., as the city of Jehovah had His anointed one. For henceforth she will be what she was always intended to be, and that without any further desecration. Heathen, uncircumcised, and those who were unclean in heart and flesh (Eze 44:9), had entered her by force, and desecrated her: heathen, who had no right to enter the congregation of Jehovah as they were (Lam 1:10). But she should no longer be defiled, not to say conquered, by such invaders as these (Joe 3:17; Nah 2:1; compare Joe 3:7 with Nah 2:1). On the construction non perget intrabit = intrare, see Ges. §142, 3, c. In Isa 52:2 the idea of the city falls into the background, and that of the nation takes its place. ירולשׁם שׁבי does not mean “captive people of Jerusalem,” however, as Hitzig supposes, for this would require שׁביה in accordance with the personification, as in Isa 52:2. The rendering supported by the lxx is the true one, “Sit down, O Jerusalem;” and this is also the way in which it is accentuated. The exhortation is the counterpart of Isa 47:1. Jerusalem is sitting upon the ground as a prisoner, having no seat to sit upon; but this is only that she may be the more highly exalted; - whereas the daughter of Babylon is seated as a queen upon a throne, but only to be the more deeply degraded. The former is now to shake herself free from the dust, and to rise up and sit down (viz., upon a throne, Targum). The captive daughter of Zion (shebhiyyâh, αἰχμάλωτος, Exo 12:29, an adjective written first for the sake of emphasis, as in Isa 10:30; Isa 53:11) is to undo for herself (sibi laxare according to p. 62, note, like hithnachēl, Isa 14:2, sibi possidendo capere) the chains of her neck (the chethib התפתחו, they loosen themselves, is opposed to the beautiful parallelism); for she who was mourning in her humiliation is to be restored to honour once more, and she who was so shamefully laden with fetters to liberty.

Isa 52:3-6

The reason for the address is now given in a well-sustained promise. “For thus saith Jehovah, Ye have been sold for nothing, and ye shall not be redeemed with silver. For thus saith the Lord Jehovah, My people went down to Egypt in the beginning to dwell there as guests; and Asshur has oppressed it for nothing. And now, what have I to do here? saith Jehovah: for my people are taken away for nothing; their oppressors shriek, saith Jehovah, and my name is continually blasphemed all the day. Therefore my people shall learn my name; therefore, in that day, that I am He who saith, There am I.” Ye have been sold (this is the meaning of Isa 52:3); but this selling is merely a giving over to a foreign power, without the slightest advantage accusing to Him who had no other object in view than to cause them to atone for their sins (Isa 50:1), and without any other people taking their place, and serving Him in their stead as an equivalent for the loss He sustained. And there would be no need of silver to purchase the favour of Him who had given them up, since a manifestation of divine power would be all that would be required (Isa 45:13). For whether Jehovah show Himself to Israel as the Righteous One or as the Gracious One, as a Judge or as a Redeemer, He always acts as the Absolute One, exalted above all earthly affairs, having no need to receive anything, but able to give everything. He receives no recompense, and gives none. Whether punishing or redeeming, He always guards His people’s honour, proving Himself in the one case to be all-sufficient, and in the other almighty, but acting in both cases freely from Himself.

In the train of thought in Isa 52:4-6 the reason is given for the general statement in Isa 52:3. Israel went down to Egypt, the country of the Nile valley, with the innocent intention of sojourning, i.e., living as a guest (gūr) there in a foreign land; and yet (as we may supply from the next clause, according to the law of a self-completing parallelism) there it fell into the bondage of the Pharaohs, who, whilst they did not fear Jehovah, but rather despised Him, were merely the blind instruments of His will. Asshur then oppressed it bephes, i.e., not “at last” (ultimo tempore, as Hävernick renders it), but (as אפס is the synonym of אין in Isa 40:17; Isa 41:2) “for nothing,” i.e., without having acquired any right to it, but rather serving in its unrighteousness simply as the blind instrument of the righteousness of Jehovah, who through the instrumentality of Asshur put an end first of all to the kingdom of Israel, and then to the kingdom of Judah. The two references to the Egyptian and Assyrian oppressions are expressed in as brief terms as possible. But with the words “now therefore” the prophecy passes on in a much more copious strain to the present oppression in Babylon. Jehovah inquires, Quid mihi hic (What have I to do here)? Hitzig supposes pōh (here) to refer to heaven, in the sense of, “What pressing occupation have I here, that all this can take place without my interfering?” But such a question as this would be far more appropriate to the Zeus of the Greek comedy than to the Jehovah of prophecy. Knobel, who takes pōh as referring to the captivity, in accordance with the context, gives a ridiculous turn to the question, viz., “What do I get here in Babylonia, from the fact that my people are carried off for nothing? Only loss.” He observes himself that there is a certain wit in the question. But it would be silly rather than witty, if, after Jehovah had just stated that He had given up His people for nothing, the prophet represented Him as preparing to redeem it by asking, “What have I gained by it?” The question can have no other meaning, according to Isa 22:16, than “What have I to do here?” Jehovah is thought of as present with His people (cf., Gen 46:4), and means to inquire whether He shall continue this penal condition of exile any longer (Targum, Rashi, Rosenmüller, Ewald, Stier, etc.). The question implies an intention to redeem Israel, and the reason for this intention is introduced with kı̄. Israel is taken away (ablatus), viz., from its own native home, chinnâm, i.e., without the Chaldeans having any human claim upon them whatever. The words יהיליילוּ משׁליו (משׁלו) are not to be rendered, “its singers lament,” as Reutschi and Rosenmüller maintain, since the singers of Israel are called meshōrerı̄m; nor “its (Israel’s) princes lament,” as Vitringa and Hitzig supposed, since the people of the captivity, although they had still their national sârı̄m, had no other mōshelı̄m than the Chaldean oppressors (Isa 49:7; Isa 14:5). It is the intolerable tyranny of the oppressors of His people, that Jehovah assigns in this sentence as the reason for His interposition, which cannot any longer be deferred. It is true that we do meet with hēlı̄l (of which we have the future here without any syncope of the first syllable) in other passages in the sense of ululare, as a cry of pain; but just as הריע, רנן, רזח signify a yelling utterance of either joy or pain, so heeliil may also be applied to the harsh shrieking of the capricious tyrants, like Lucan’s laetis ululare triumphis, and the Syriac ailel, which is used to denote a war-cry and other noises as well. In connection with this proud and haughty bluster, there is also the practice of making Jehovah’s name the butt of their incessant blasphemy: מנּאץ is a part. hithpoel with an assimilated ת and a pausal ā for ē, although it might also be a passive hithpoal (for the ō in the middle syllable, compare מגאל, Mal 1:7; מבהל, Est 8:14). In Isa 52:6 there follows the closing sentence of the whole train of thought: therefore His people are to get to learn His name, i.e., the self-manifestation of its God, who is so despised by the heathen; therefore lâkhēn repeated with emphasis, like כּעל in Isa 59:18, and possibly min in Psa 45:9) in that day, the day of redemption, (supply “it shall get to learn”) that “I am he who saith, Here am I,” i.e., that He who has promised redemption is now present as the True and Omnipotent One to carry it into effect.

Isa 52:7

The first two turns in the prophecy (Isa 52:1-2, Isa 52:3-6) close here. The third turn (Isa 52:7-10) exults at the salvation which is being carried into effect. The prophet sees in spirit, how the tidings of the redemption, to which the fall of Babylon, which is equivalent to the dismission of the prisoners, gives the finishing stroke, are carried over the mountains of Judah to Jerusalem. “How lovely upon the mountains are the feet of them that bring good tidings, that publish peace, that bring tidings of good, that publish salvation, that say unto Zion, Thy God reigneth royally!” The words are addressed to Jerusalem, consequently the mountains are those of the Holy Land, and especially those to the north of Jerusalem: mebhassēr is collective (as in the primary passage, Nah 2:1; cf., Isa 41:27; Psa 68:12), “whoever brings the glad tidings to Jerusalem.” The exclamation “how lovely” does not refer to the lovely sound of their footsteps, but to the lovely appearance presented by their feet, which spring over the mountains with all the swiftness of gazelles (Sol 2:17; Sol 8:14). Their feet look as if they had wings, because they are the messengers of good tidings of joy. The joyful tidings that are left indefinite in mebhassēr, are afterwards more particularly described as a proclamation of peace, good, salvation, and also as containing the announcement “thy God reigneth,” i.e., has risen to a right royal sway, or seized upon the government (מלך in an inchoative historical sense, as in the theocratic psalms which commence with the same watchword, or like ἐβασίλευσε in Rev 19:6, cf., Rev 11:17). Up to this time, when His people were in bondage, He appeared to have lost His dominion (Isa 63:19); but now He has ascended the throne as a Redeemer with greater glory than ever before (Isa 24:23). The gospel of the swift-footed messengers, therefore, is the gospel of the kingdom of God that is at hand; and the application which the apostle makes of this passage of Isaiah in Rom 10:15, is justified by the fact that the prophet saw the final and universal redemption as though in combination with the close of the captivity.

Isa 52:8

How will the prophets rejoice, when they see bodily before them what they have already seen from afar! “Hark, thy watchers! They lift up the voice together; they rejoice: for they see eye to eye, how Jehovah bringeth Zion home.” קול followed by a genitive formed an interjectional clause, and had almost become an interjection itself (see Gen 4:10). The prophets are here called tsōphı̄m, spies, as persons who looked into the distance as if from a watch-tower (specula, Isa 21:6; Hab 2:1) just as in Isa 56:10. It is assumed that the people of the captivity would still have prophets among them: in fact, the very first word in these prophecies (Isa 40:1) is addressed to them. They who saw the redemption from afar, and comforted the church therewith (different from mebhassēr, the evangelist of the fulfilment), lift up their voice together with rejoicing; for they see Jehovah bringing back Zion, as closely as one man is to another when he looks directly into his eyes (Num 14:14). בּ is the same as in the construction בּ ראה; and שׁוּב has the transitive meaning reducere, restituere (as in Psa 14:7; Psa 126:1, etc.), which is placed beyond all doubt by שׁוּבנוּ in Psa 85:5.

Isa 52:9

Zion is restored, inasmuch as Jehovah turns away her misery, brings back her exiles, and causes the holy city to rise again from her ruins. “Break out into exultation, sing together, ye ruins of Jerusalem: for Jehovah hath comforted His people, He hath redeemed Jerusalem.” Because the word of consolation has become an act of consolation, i.e., of redemption, the ruins of Jerusalem are to break out into jubilant shouting as they rise again from the ground.

Isa 52:10

Jehovah has wrought out salvation through judgment in the sight of all the world. “Jehovah hath made bare His holy arm before the eyes of all nations, and all the ends of the earth see the salvation of our God.” As a warrior is accustomed to make bare his right arm up to the shoulder, that he may fight without encumbrance (exsertare humeros nudamque lacessere pugnan, as Statius says in Theb. i. 413), so has Jehovah made bare His holy arm, that arm in which holiness dwells, which shines with holiness, and which acts in holiness, that arm which has been hitherto concealed and therefore has appeared to be powerless, and that in the sight of the whole world of nations; so that all the ends of the earth come to see the reality of the work, which this arm has already accomplished by showing itself in its unveiled glory - in other words, “the salvation of our God.”

Isa 52:11-12

This salvation in its immediate manifestation is the liberation of the exiles; and on the ground of what the prophet sees in spirit, he exclaims to them (as in Isa 48:20), in Isa 52:11, Isa 52:12 : “Go ye forth, go ye forth, go out from thence, lay hold of no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her, cleanse yourselves, ye that bear the vessels of Jehovah. For ye shall not go out in confusion, and ye shall not go forth in flight: for Jehovah goeth before you, and the God of Israel is your rear-guard.” When they go out from thence, i.e., from Babylon, they are not to touch anything unclean, i.e., they are not to enrich themselves with the property of their now subjugated oppressors, as was the case at the Exodus from Egypt (Exo 12:36). It is to be a holy procession, at which they are to appear morally as well as corporeally unstained. But those who bear the vessels of Jehovah, i.e., the vessels of the temple, are not only not to defile themselves, but are to purify themselves (hibbârū with the tone upon the last syllable, a regular imperative niphal of bârar). This is an indirect prophecy, and was fulfilled in the fact that Cyrus directed the golden and silver vessels, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought to Babylon, to be restored to the returning exiles as their rightful property (Ezr 1:7-11). It would thus be possible for them to put themselves into the right attitude for their departure, since it would not take place in precipitous haste (bechippâzon), as the departure from Egypt did (Deu 16:3, cf., Exo 12:39), nor like a flight, but they would go forth under the guidance of Jehovah. מאסּפכם (with the ē changed into the original ı̆) does not man, “He bringeth you, the scattered ones, together,” but according to Num 10:25; Jos 6:9, Jos 6:13, “He closes your procession,” - He not only goes before you to lead you, but also behind you, to protect you (as in Exo 14:19). For the me'assēph, or the rear-guard of an army, is its keystone, and has to preserve the compactness of the whole.

The division of the chapters generally coincides with the several prophetic addresses. But here it needs emendation. Most of the commentators are agreed that the words “Behold my servant,” etc. (hinnēh yaskı̄l ‛abhdı̄) commence a new section, like hēn ‛abhdı̄ (behold my servant) in Isa 42:1.

FIFTH PROPHECY.— Chap. 52:13-53.

GOLGOTHA AND SHEBLIMINI,שֵׁ֥ב לִֽימִינִ֑י: “sit thou at my right hand.” — Tr. OR THE EXALTATION OP THE SERVANT OF JEHOVAH OUT OF PEEP DEGRADATION.

Victor F. Oehler has recently attempted to establish an opinion, to which no one had given expression before, viz. that the transition from the collective idea of the servant of God to the “Servant of God” as an individual takes place in ver. 14, where Israel is addressed in the first clause, and the Messiah referred to in the second. But our view is a totally different one. In every case, thus far, in which another than Jehovah has spoken, it has been the one “Servant of Jehovah” who was the centre of the circle, the heart and head of the body of Israel. And after having heard him speaking himself in Isa 1:4-9, Isa 49:1-6, Isa 48:16b, and Jehovah speaking concerning him in Isa 1. 10-11, Isa 49:7-9, Isa 42:1-7, it does not come upon us at all unexpectedly, that Jehovah begins to speak of him again here. Nor does it surprise us, that the prophet should pass in so abrupt a manner, from the exaltation of the church to the exaltation of the servant of Jehovah. If we look back, we find that he has not omitted anything, that could preclude the possibility of our confounding this servant of Jehovah with Israel itself. For although Israel itself, in its relation to Jehovah, is spoken of frequently enough as “my servant” and “his servant ;” yet the passage before us is preceded by the same representation of Israel the community as a female, which has been sustained from Isa 51:17 onwards; and although in Isa. 51:1-16 the national idea of the "servant of Jehovah" is expressed in the most definite manner possible (more especially in Isa 51:7), the name employed is not that which the personal “Servant,” whom no one can possibly mistake in Isa 1:4-9, already bears in Isa 1:10. It is this personal Servant who is spoken of here. It is his portrait that is here filled out and completed, and that as a side-piece to the liberation and restoration of Zion-Jerusalem as depicted just before. It is the servant of Jehovah who conducts His people through suffering to glory. It is in his heart, as we now most clearly discern, that the changing of Jehovah's wrath into love takes place. He suffers with his people, suffers for them, suffers in their stead ; because he has not brought the suffering upon himself, like the great mass of the people, through sin, but has voluntarily submitted to it as the guiltless and righteous one, in order that he might entirely remove it, even to its roots, i.e. the guilt and the sin which occasioned it, by his own sacrifice of himself. Thus is Israel's glory concentrated in him like a sun. The glory of Israel has his glory for a focus. He is the seed-corn, which is buried in the earth, to bring forth much fruit ; and this “much fruit” is the glory of Israel and the salvation of the nations. “Christian scholars,” says Abravanel, “interpret this prophecy as referring to that man who was crucified in Jerusalem about the end of the second temple, and who, according to their view, was the Son of God, who became man in the womb of the Virgin. , But Jonathan ben Uziel explains it as relating to the Messiah who has yet to come ; and this is the opinion of the ancients in many of their Midrashim.” So that even the synagogue could not help acknowledging that the passage of the Messiah through death to glory is predicted here.See A. M. M‘Caul’s tract on Isa. liii., and the " Old Jewish Midrash of the Suffering Redeemer" in our Mag. Saat auf Hoffnung, i. 3, pp. 87-39. And what interest could we have in understanding by the “servant of Jehovah,” in this section, the nation of Israel generally, as many Rabbis, both circumcised and uncircumcised, have done ; whereas he is that One Israelite in whom Jehovah has effected the redemption of both Israel and the heathen, even through the medium of Israel itself ? Or what interest could we have in persuading ourselves that Jeremiah, or some unknown martyr-prophet, is intended, as Grotius, Bunsen, and Ewald suppose ; whereas it is rather the great unknown and misinterpreted One, whom Jewish and Judaizing exegesis still continues to misinterpret in its exposition of the figure before us, just as His contemporaries misinterpreted Him when He actually appeared among them. How many are there whose eyes have been opened when reading this “ golden passional of the Old Testament evangelist,” as Polycarp the Lysian calls it ! In how many an Israelite has it melted the crust of his heart ! It looks as if it had been written beneath the cross upon Golgotha, and was illuminated by the heavenly brightness of the full שֵׁ֥ב לִֽימִינִ֑י. It is the unravelling of Ps. 22:1. and Ps. 110:1. It forms the outer centre of this wonderful book of consolation (Isa 40-66.), and is the most central, the deepest, and the loftiest thing that the Old Testament prophecy, outstripping itself, has ever achieved. And yet it does not belie its Old Testament origin. For the prophet sees the advent of “the servant of Jehovah,” and His rejection by His own people, bound up as it were with the duration of the captivity. It is at the close of the captivity that he beholds the exaltation of the Servant of Jehovah, who has died and been buried, and yet lives for ever ; and with His exaltation the inward and outward return of Israel, and the restoration of Jerusalem in its renewed and final glory ; and with this restoration of the people of God, the conversion of the nations and the salvation of mankind.I cannot refrain from repeating here a passage taken from my closing remarks on Drechsler (iii. 376), simply because I cannot find any better way of expressing what I have to say upon this point: “When Isaiah sang his dying song on the border line of the reigns of Hezekiah and Manasseh, all the coming sufferings of his people appeared to be concentrated in the one view of the captivity in Babylon. And it was in the midst of this period of suffering, which formed the extreme limit of his range of vision, that he saw the redemption of Israel beginning to appear. He saw the servant of Jehovah working among the captives, just as at His coming He actually did appear in the midst of His people, when they were in bondage to the imperial power of the world ; he also saw the Servant of Jehovah passing through death to glory, and Israel ascending with Him, as in fact the ascension of Jesus was the completion of the redemption of Israel ; and it was only the unbelief of the great mass of Israel which occasioned the fact, that this redemption was at first merely the spiritual redemption of believers out of the nation, and not the spiritual and physical redemption of the nation as a whole. So far, therefore, a broad gap was made in point of time between the exaltation of the servant of Jehovah and the glorious restoration of Israel which is still in the future ; and this gap was hidden from the prophet's view. It is only the coming of Christ in glory which will fully realize what was not yet realized when He entered into glory after the sufferings of death, on account of Israel’s unbelief.”

Isa 52:13 In this sense there follows here, immediately after the cry. “Go ye out from Babylon,” an index pointing from the suffering of the Servant to His reward in glory. “Behold, my servant will act wisely; he will come forth, and arise, and be very high.” Even apart from Isa 42:1, hinnēh (hēn) is a favourite commencement with Isaiah; and this very first v. contains, according to Isaiah’s custom, a brief, condensed explanation of the theme. The exaltation of the Servant of Jehovah is the theme of the prophecy which follows. In v. 13 a the way is shown, by which He reaches His greatness; in v. 13 b the increasing greatness itself. השׂכּיל by itself means simply to gain, prove, or act with intelligence (lxx συνήσει); and then, since intelligent action, as a rule, is also effective, it is used as synonymous with הצליח, הכשׁהיר, to act with result, i.e., so as to be successful. Hence it is only by way of sequence that the idea of “prosperously” is connected with that of “prudently” (e.g., Jos 1:8; Jer 10:21). The word is never applied to such prosperity as a man enjoys without any effort of his own, but only to such as he attains by successful action, i.e., by such action as is appropriate to the desired and desirable result. In Jer 23:2, where hiskı̄l is one feature in the picture of the dominion exercised by the Messiah, the idea of intelligent action is quite sufficient, without any further subordinate meaning. But here, where the exaltation is derived from ישׂכיל as the immediate consequence, without any intervening על־כן, there is naturally associated with the idea of wise action, i.e., of action suited to the great object of his call, that of effective execution or abundant success, which has as its natural sequel an ever-increasing exaltation. Rosenmüller observes, in Isa 52:13, “There is no need to discuss, or even to inquire, what precise difference there is in the meaning of the separate words;” but this is a very superficial remark. If we consider that rūm signifies not only to be high, but to rise up (Pro 11:11) and become exalted, and also to become manifest as exalted (Ps. 21:14), and that נשּׂא, according to the immediate and original reflective meaning of the niphal, signifies to raise one’s self, whereas gâbhah expresses merely the condition, without the subordinate idea of activity, we obtain this chain of thought: he will rise up, he will raise himself still higher, he will stand on high. The three verbs (of which the two perfects are defined by the previous future) consequently denote the commencement, the continuation, and the result or climax of the exaltation; and Stier is not wrong in recalling to mind the three principal steps of the exaltatio in the historical fulfilment, viz., the resurrection, the ascension, and the sitting down at the right hand of God. The addition of the word מאד shows very clearly that וגבהּ is intended to be taken as the final result: the servant of Jehovah, rising from stage to stage, reaches at last an immeasurable height, that towers above everything besides (comp. ὑπερύψωσε in Phi 2:9, with ὑψωθείς in Act 2:33, and for the nature of the ὑπερύψωσε, Eph 1:20-23).

Isa 52:14-15

The prophecy concerning him passes now into an address to him, as in Isa 49:8 (cf., Isa 49:7), which sinks again immediately into an objective tone. “Just as many were astonished at thee: so disfigured, his appearance was not human, and his form not like that of the children of men: so will he make many nations to tremble; kings will shut their mouth at him: for they see what has not been told them, and discover what they have not heard.” Both Oehler and Hahn suppose that the first clause is addressed to Israel, and that it is here pointed away from its own degradation, which excited such astonishment, to the depth of suffering endured by the One man. Hahn’s principal reason, which Oehler adopts, is the sudden leap that we should otherwise have to assume from the second person to the third - an example of “negligence” which we can hardly impute to the prophet. But a single glance at Isa 42:20 and Isa 1:29 is sufficient to show how little force there is in this principal argument. We should no doubt expect עליכם or עליך after what has gone before, if the nation were addressed; but it is difficult to see what end a comparison between the sufferings of the nation and those of the One man, which merely places the sufferings of the two in an external relation to one another, could be intended to answer; whilst the second kēn (so), which evidently introduces an antithesis, is altogether unexplained. The words are certainly addressed to the servant of Jehovah; and the meaning of the sicut (just as) in Isa 52:14, and of the sic (so) which introduces the principal sentence in Isa 52:15, is, that just as His degradation was the deepest degradation possible, so His glorification would be of the loftiest kind. The height of the exaltation is held up as presenting a perfect contrast to the depth of the degradation. The words, “so distorted was his face, more than that of a man,” form, as has been almost unanimously admitted since the time of Vitringa, a parenthesis, containing the reason for the astonishment excited by the servant of Jehovah. Stier is wrong in supposing that this first “so” (kēn) refers to ka'ăsher (just as), in the sense of “If men were astonished at thee, there was ground for the astonishment.” Isa 52:15 would not stand out as an antithesis, if we adopted this explanation; moreover, the thought that the fact corresponded to the impression which men received, is a very tame and unnecessary one; and the change of persons in sentences related to one another in this manner is intolerably harsh; whereas, with our view of the relation in which the sentences stand to one another, the parenthesis prepares the way for the sudden change from a direct address to a declaration. Hitherto many had been astonished at the servant of Jehovah: shâmēm, to be desolate or waste, to be thrown by anything into a desolate or benumbed condition, to be startled, confused, as it were petrified, by paralyzing astonishment (Lev 26:32; Eze 26:16). To such a degree (kēn, adeo) was his appearance mishchath mē'ı̄sh, and his form mibbenē 'âdâm (sc., mishchath). We might take mishchath as the construct of mishchâth, as Hitzig does, since this connecting form is sometimes used (e.g., Isa 33:6) even without any genitive relation; but it may also be the absolute, syncopated from משׁחתתּ = משׁחתת (Hävernick and Stier), like moshchath in Mal 1:14, or, what we prefer, after the form mirmas (Isa 10:6), with the original ă, without the usual lengthening (Ewald, §160, c, Anm. 4). His appearance and his form were altogether distortion (stronger than moshchâth, distorted), away from men, out beyond men, i.e., a distortion that destroys all likeness to a man;The church before the time of Constantine pictured to itself the Lord, as He walked on earth, as repulsive in His appearance; whereas the church after Constantine pictured Him as having quite an ideal beauty (see my tract, Jesus and Hillel, 1865, p. 4). They were both right: unattractive in appearance, though not deformed, He no doubt was in the days of His flesh; but He is ideally beautiful in His glorification. The body in which He was born of Mary was no royal form, though faith could see the doxa shining through. It was no royal form, for the suffering of death was the portion of the Lamb of God, even from His mother’s womb; but the glorified One is infinitely exalted above all the idea of art.'ı̄sh does not signify man as distinguished from woman here, but a human being generally.

The antithesis follows in Isa 52:15 : viz., the state of glory in which this form of wretchedness has passed away. As a parallel to the “many” in Isa 52:14, we have here “many nations,” indicating the excess of the glory by the greater fulness of the expression; and as a parallel to “were astonished at thee,” “he shall make to tremble” (yazzeh), in other words, the effect which He produces by what He does to the effect produced by what He suffers. The hiphil hizzâh generally means to spirt or sprinkle (adspergere), and is applied to the sprinkling of the blood with the finger, more especially upon the capporeth and altar of incense on the day of atonement (differing in this respect from zâraq, the swinging of the blood out of a bowl), also to the sprinkling of the water of purification upon a leper with the bunch of hyssop (Lev 14:7), and of the ashes of the red heifer upon those defiled through touching a corpse (Num 19:18); in fact, generally, to sprinkling for the purpose of expiation and sanctification. And Vitringa, Hengstenberg, and others, accordingly follow the Syriac and Vulgate in adopting the rendering adsperget (he will sprinkle). They have the usage of the language in their favour; and this explanation also commends itself from a reference to נגוּע in Isa 53:4, and נגע in Isa 53:8 (words which are generally used of leprosy, and on account of which the suffering Messiah is called in b. Sanhedrin 98 b by an emblematical name adopted from the old synagogue, “the leper of Rabbi’s school”), since it yields the significant antithesis, that he who was himself regarded as unclean, even as a second Job, would sprinkle and sanctify whole nations, and thus abolish the wall of partition between Israel and the heathen, and gather together into one holy church with Israel those who had hitherto been pronounced “unclean” (Isa 52:1). But, on the other hand, this explanation has so far the usage of the language against it, that hizzâh is never construed with the accusative of the person or thing sprinkled (like adspergere aliqua re aliquem; since 'eth in Lev 4:6, Lev 4:17 is a preposition like ‛al, ‛el elsewhere); moreover, there would be something very abrupt in this sudden representation of the servant as a priest. Such explanations as “he will scatter asunder” (disperget, Targum, etc.), or “he will spill” (sc., their blood), are altogether out of the question; such thoughts as these would be quite out of place in a spiritual picture of salvation and glory, painted upon the dark ground we have here. The verb nâzâh signified primarily to leap or spring; hence hizzâh, with the causative meaning to sprinkle. The kal combines the intransitive and transitive meanings of the word “spirt,” and is used in the former sense in Isa 63:3, to signify the springing up or sprouting up of any liquid scattered about in drops. The Arabic nazâ (see Ges. Thes.) shows that this verb may also be applied to the springing or leaping of living beings, caused by excess of emotion. And accordingly we follow the majority of the commentators in adopting the rendering exsilire faciet. The fact that whole nations are the object, and not merely individuals, proves nothing to the contrary, as Hab 3:6 clearly shows. The reference is to their leaping up in amazement (lxx θαυμάσονται); and the verb denotes less an external than an internal movement. They will tremble with astonishment within themselves (cf., pâchădū verâgezū in Jer 33:9), being electrified, as it were, by the surprising change that has taken place in the servant of Jehovah. The reason why kings “shut their mouths at him” is expressly stated, viz., what was never related they see, and what was never heard of they perceive; i.e., it was something going far beyond all that had ever been reported to them outside the world of nations, or come to their knowledge within it. Hitzig’s explanation, that they do not trust themselves to begin to speak before him or along with him, gives too feeble a sense, and would lead us rather to expect לפניו than עליו. The shutting of the mouth is the involuntary effect of the overpowering impression, or the manifestation of their extreme amazement at one so suddenly brought out of the depths, and lifted up to so great a height. The strongest emotion is that which remains shut up within ourselves, because, from its very intensity, it throws the whole nature into a suffering state, and drowns all reflection in emotion (cf., yachărı̄sh in Zep 3:17). The parallel in Isa 49:7 is not opposed to this; the speechless astonishment, at what is unheard and inconceivable, changes into adoring homage, as soon as they have become to some extent familiar with it. The first turn in the prophecy closes here: The servant of Jehovah, whose inhuman sufferings excite such astonishment, is exalted on high; so that from utter amazement the nations tremble, and their kings are struck dumb.

Encouragement to Jerusalem. (b. c. 706.)

1 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. 2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. 3 For thus saith the Lord , Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money. 4 For thus saith the Lord God , My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. 5 Now therefore, what have I here, saith the Lord , that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the Lord ; and my name continually every day is blasphemed. 6 Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.

Here, I. God's people are stirred up to appear vigorous for their own deliverance, v. 1, 2. They had desired that God would awake and put on his strength, ch. li. 9. Here he calls upon them to awake and put on their strength, to bestir themselves; let them awake from their despondency, and pluck up their spirits, encourage themselves and one another with the hope that all will be well yet, and no longer succumb and sink under their burden. Let them awake from their distrust, look above them, look about them, look into the promises, look into the providences of God that were working for them, and let them raise their expectations of great things from God. Let them awake from their dullness, sluggishness, and incogitancy, and raise up their endeavours, not to take any irregular courses for their own relief, contrary to the law of nations concerning captives, but to use all likely means to recommend themselves to the favour of the conqueror and make an interest with him. God here gives them an assurance, 1. That they should be reformed by their captivity: There shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean (v. 1); their idolatrous customs should be no more introduced, or at least not harboured; for when by the marriage of strange wives, in Ezra's time and Nehemiah's, the unclean crept in, they were soon by the vigilance and zeal of the magistrates expelled again, and care was taken that Jerusalem should be a holy city. Thus the gospel Jerusalem is purified by the blood of Christ and the grace of God, and made indeed a holy city. 2. That they should be relieved and rescued out of their captivity, that the bands of their necks should be loosed, that they should not now be any longer oppressed, nay, that they should not be any more invaded, as they had been: There shall no more come against thee (so it may be read) the uncircumcised and the clean. The heathen shall not again enter into God's sanctuary and profane his temple, Ps. lxxix. 1. This must be understood with a condition. If they keep close to God, and keep in with him, God will keep off, will keep out of the enemy; but, if they again corrupt themselves, Antiochus will profane their temple and the Romans will destroy it. However, for some time they shall have peace. And to this happy change, now approaching, they are here called to accommodate themselves. (1.) Let them prepare for joy: "Put on thy beautiful garments, no longer to appear in mourning weeds and the habit of thy widowhood. Put on a new face, a smiling countenance, now that a new and pleasant scene begins to open." The beautiful garments were laid up then, when the harps were hung on the willow trees; but, now there is occasion for both, let both be resumed together. "Put on thy strength, and, in order to that, put on thy beautiful garments, in token of triumph and rejoicing." Note, The joy of the Lord will be our strength (Neh. viii. 10), and our beautiful garments will serve for armour of proof against the darts of temptation and trouble. And observe, Jerusalem must put on her beautiful garments when she becomes a holy city, for the beauty of holiness is the most amiable beauty, and the more holy we are the more cause we have to rejoice. (2.) Let them prepare for liberty: "Shake thyself from the dust in which thou hast lain, and into which thy proud oppressors have trodden thee (ch. li. 23), or into which thou hast in thy extreme sorrow rolled thyself." Arise, and set up; so it may be read. "O Jerusalem! prepare to get clear of all the marks of servitude thou hast been under and to shift thy quarters: Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck; be inspired with generous principles and resolutions to assert thy own liberty." The gospel proclaims liberty to those who were bound with fears and makes it their duty to take hold of their liberty. Let those who have been weary and heavily laden under the burden of sin, finding relief in Christ, shake themselves from the dust of their doubts and fears and loose themselves from those bands; for, if the Son make them free, they shall be free indeed.

II. God stirs up himself to appear jealous for the deliverance of his people. He here pleads their cause with himself, and even stirs up himself to come and save them, for his reasons of mercy are fetched from himself. Several things he here considers.

1. That the Chaldeans who oppressed them never acknowledged God in the power they gained over his people, any more than Sennacherib did, who, when God made use of him as an instrument for the correction and reformation of his people, meant not so, ch. x. 6, 7. "You have sold yourselves for nought; you got nothing by it, nor did I," v. 3. (God considers that when they by sin had sold themselves he himself, who had the prior, nay, the sole, title to them, did not increase his wealth by their price, Ps. xliv. 12. They did not so much as pay their debts to him with it; the Babylonians gave him no thanks for them, but rather reproached and blasphemed his name upon that account.) "And therefore they, having so long had you for nothing, shall at last restore you for nothing: You shall be redeemed without price," as was promised, ch. xlv. 13. Those that give nothing must expect to get nothing; however, God is a debtor to no man.

2. That they had been often before in similar distress, had often smarted for a time under the tyranny of their task-masters, and therefore it was a pity that they should now be left always in the hand of these oppressors (v. 4): "My people went down into Egypt, in an amicable way to settle there; but they enslaved them, and ruled them with rigour." And then they were delivered, notwithstanding the pride, and power, and policies of Pharaoh. And why may we not think God will deliver his people now? At other times the Assyrian oppressed the people of God without cause, as when the ten tribes were carried away captive by the king of Assyria; soon afterwards Sennacherib, another Assyrian, with a destroying army oppressed and made himself master of all the defenced cities of Judah. The Babylonians might not unfitly be called Assyrians, their monarchy being a branch of the Assyrians; and they now oppressed them without cause. Though God was righteous in delivering them into their hands, they were unrighteous in using them as they did, and could not pretend a dominion over them as their subjects, as Pharaoh might when they were settled in Goshen, part of his kingdom. When we suffer by the hands of wicked and unreasonable men it is some comfort to be able to say that as to them it is without cause, that we have not given them any provocation, Ps. vii. 3-5, &c.

3. That God's glory suffered by the injuries that were done to his people (v. 5): What have I here, what do I get by it, that my people are taken away for nought? God is not worshipped as he used to be in Jerusalem, his altar there is gone and his temple in ruins; but if, in lieu of that, he were more and better worshipped in Babylon, either by the captives or by the natives, it were another matter—God might be looked upon as in some respects a gainer in his honour by it; but, alas! it is not so. (1.) The captives are so dispirited that they cannot praise him; instead of this they are continually howling, which grieves him and moves his pity; Those that rule over them make them to howl, as the Egyptians of old made them to sigh, Exod. ii. 23. So the Babylonians now, using them more hardly, extorted from them louder complaints and made them to howl. This gives us no pleasing idea of the temper the captives were now in; their complaints were not so rational and pious as they should have been, but brutish rather; they howled, Hos. vii. 14. However God heard them, and came down to deliver them, as he did out of Egypt, Exod. iii. 7, 8. (2.) The natives are so insolent that they will not praise him, but, instead of that, they are continually blaspheming, which affronts him and moves his anger. They boasted that they were too hard for God because they were too hard for his people, and set him at defiance, as unable to deliver them, and thus his name continually every day was blasphemed among them. When they praised their own idols they lifted up themselves against the Lord of heaven, Dan. v. 23. "Now," says God, "this is not to be suffered. I will go down to deliver them; for what honour, what rent, what tribute of praise have I from the world, when my people, who should be to me for a name and praise, are to me for a reproach? For their oppressors will neither praise God themselves nor let them do it." The apostle quotes this with application to the wicked lives of the Jews, by which God was dishonoured among the Gentiles then, as much as now he was by their sufferings, Rom. ii. 23, 24.

4. That his glory would be greatly manifested by their deliverance (v. 6): "Therefore, because my name is thus blasphemed, I will arise, and my people shall know my name, my name Jehovah." By this name he had made himself known in delivering them out of Egypt, Exod. vi. 3. God will do something to vindicate his own honour, something for his great name; and his people, who have almost lost the knowledge of it, shall know it to their comfort and shall find it their strong tower. They shall know that God's providence governs the world, and all the affairs of it, it is he who speaks deliverance for them by the word of his power, that it is he only, who at first spoke and it was done. They shall know that God's word, which Israel is blessed with above other nations, shall without fail have its accomplishment in due season, that it is he who speaks by the prophet; it is he, and they do not speak of themselves; for not one iota or tittle of what they say shall fall to the ground.

The Approach of the Messiah. (b. c. 706.)

7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! 8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion. 9 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. 11 Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord . 12 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward.

The removal of the Jews from Babylon to their own land again is here spoken of both as a mercy and as a duty; and the application of v. 7 to the preaching of the gospel (by the apostle, Rom. x. 15) plainly intimates that that deliverance was a type and figure of the redemption of mankind by Jesus Christ, to which what is here said of their redemption out of Babylon ought to be accommodated.

I. It is here spoken of as a great blessing, which ought to be welcomed with abundance of joy and thankfulness. 1. Those that bring the tidings of their release shall be very acceptable (v. 7): "How beautiful upon the mountains, the mountains round about Jerusalem, over which these messengers are seen coming at a distance, how beautiful are their feet, when it is known what tidings they bring!" It is not meant so much of the common posts, or the messengers sent express by the government to disperse the proclamation, but rather of some of the Jews themselves, who, being at the fountain-head of intelligence, had early notice of it, and immediately went themselves, or sent their own messengers, to all parts, to disperse the news, and even to Jerusalem itself, to tell the few who remained there that their brethren would be with them shortly; for it is published not merely as matter of news, but as a proof that Zion's God reigns, for in that language it is published: they say unto Zion, Thy God reigns. Those who bring the tidings of peace and salvation, that Cyrus has given orders for the release of the Jews, tidings which were so long expected by those that waited for the consolation of Israel, those good tidings (so the original reads it, without the tautology of our translation, good tidings of good), put this construction upon it, O Zion! thy God reigns. Note, When bad news is abroad this is good news, and when good news is abroad this is the best news, that Zion's God reigns, that God is Zion's God, in covenant with her, and as such he reigns, Ps. cxlvi. 10; Zech. ix. 9. The Lord has founded Zion, ch. xiv. 32. All events have their rise in the disposals of the kingdom of his providence and their tendency to the advancement of the kingdom of his grace. This must be applied to the preaching of the gospel, which is a proclamation of peace and salvation; it is gospel indeed, good news, glad tidings, tidings of victory over our spiritual enemies and liberty from our spiritual bondage. The good news is that the Lord Jesus reigns and all power is given to him. Christ himself brought these tidings first (Luke iv. 18, Heb. ii. 3), and of him the text speaks: How beautiful are his feet! his feet that were nailed to the cross, how beautiful upon Mount Calvary! his feet when he came leaping upon the mountains (Cant. ii. 8), how beautiful were they to those who knew his voice and knew it to be the voice of their beloved! His ministers proclaim these good tidings; they ought to keep their feet clean from the pollutions of the world, and then they ought to be beautiful in the eyes of those to whom they are sent, who sit at their feet, or rather at Christ's in them, to hear his word. They must be esteemed in love for their work's sake (1 Thess. v. 13), for their message sake, which is well worthy of all acceptation. 2. Those to whom the tidings are brought shall be put thereby into a transport of joy. (1.) Zion's watchmen shall then rejoice because they are surprisingly illuminated, v. 8. The watchmen on Jerusalem's walls shall lead the chorus in this triumph. Who they were we are told, ch. lxii. 6. They were such as God set on the walls of Jerusalem, to make mention of his name, and to continue instant in prayer to him, till he again made Jerusalem a praise in the earth. These watchmen stand upon their watch-tower, waiting for an answer to their prayers (Hab. ii. 1); and therefore when the good news comes they have it first, and the longer they have continued and the more importunate they have been in praying for it the more will they be elevated when it comes: They shall lift up the voice, with the voice together shall they sing in concert, to invite others to join with them in their praises. And that which above all things will transport them with pleasure is that they shall see eye to eye, that is, face to face. Whereas God had been a God hiding himself, and they could scarcely discern any thing of his favour through the dark cloud of their afflictions, now that the cloud is scattered they shall plainly see it. They shall see Zion's king eye to eye; so it was fulfilled when the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and there were those that saw his glory (John i. 14) and looked upon it, 1 John i. 1. They shall see an exact agreement and correspondence between the prophecy and the event, the promise and the performance; they shall see how they look one upon another eye to eye, and be satisfied that the same God spoke the one and did the other. When the Lord shall bring again Zion out of her captivity the prophets shall thence receive and give fuller discoveries than ever of God's good-will to his people. Applying this also, as the foregoing verse, to gospel times, it is a promise of the pouring out of the Spirit upon gospel ministers, as a spirit of wisdom and revelation, to lead them into all truth, so that they shall see eye to eye, shall see God's grace more clearly than the Old-Testament saints could see it: and they shall herein be unanimous; in these great things concerning the common salvation they shall concur in their sentiments as well as their songs. Nay, St. Paul seems to allude to this when he makes it the privilege of our future state that we shall see face to face. (2.) Zion's waste places shall then rejoice because they shall be surprisingly comforted (v. 9): Break forth into joy, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem; that is, all parts of Jerusalem, for it was all in ruins, and even those parts that seemed to lie most desolate shall share in the joy; and they, having little expected it, shall break forth into joy, as men that dream, Ps. cxxvi. 1, 2. Let them sing together. Note, Those that share in mercies ought to join in praises. Here is matter for joy and praise. [1.] God's people will have the comfort of this salvation; and what is the matter of our rejoicing ought to be the matter of our thanksgiving. He has redeemed Jerusalem (the inhabitants of Jerusalem that were sold into the hands of their enemies) and thereby he has comforted his people that were in sorrow. The redemption of Jerusalem is the joy of all God's people, whose character it is that they look for that redemption, Luke ii. 38. [2.] God will have the glory of it, v. 10. He has made bare his holy arm (manifested and displayed his power) in the eyes of all the nations. God's arm is a holy arm, stretched out in purity and justice, in defence of holiness and in pursuance of his promise. [3.] All the world will have the benefit of it. In the great salvation wrought out by our Lord Jesus the arm of the Lord was revealed and all the ends of the earth were made to see the great salvation, not as spectators of it only, as they saw the deliverance of the Jews out of Babylon, but as sharers in it; some of all nations, the most remote, shall partake of the benefits of the redemption. This is applied to our salvation by Christ. Luke iii. 6, All flesh shall see the salvation of God, that great salvation.

II. It is here spoken of as a great business, which ought to be managed with abundance of care and circumcision. When the liberty is proclaimed, 1. Let the people of God hasten out of Babylon with all convenient speed; though they are ever so well settled there, let them not think of taking root in Babylon, but Depart, depart (v. 11), go out from the midst of her; not only those that are in the borders, but those that are in the midst, in the heart of the country, let them be gone. Babylon is no place for Israelites. As soon as they have leave to let go, let them lose no time. With this word God stirred up the spirits of those that were moved to go up, Ezra i. 5. And it is a call to all those who are yet in the bondage of sin and Satan to make use of the liberty which Christ has proclaimed to them. And, if the Son make them free, they shall be free indeed. 2. Let them take heed of carrying away with them any of the pollutions of Babylon: Touch no unclean thing. Now that God makes bare his holy arm for you, be you holy as he is, and keep yourselves from every wicked thing. When they came out of Egypt they brought with them the idolatrous customs of Egypt (Ezek. xxiii. 3), which were their ruin; let them take heed of doing so now that they come out of Babylon. Note, When we are receiving any special mercy from God we ought more carefully than ever to watch against all impurity. But especially let those be clean who bear the vessels of the Lord, that is, the priests, who had the charge of the vessels of the sanctuary (when they were restored by a particular grant) to carry them to Jerusalem, Ezra i. 7; viii. 24, &c. Let them not only avoid touching any unclean thing, but be very careful to cleanse themselves according to the purification of the sanctuary. Christians are made to our God spiritual priests, Rev. i. 6. They are to bear the vessels of the Lord, are entrusted to keep the ordinances of God pure and entire; it is a good thing that is committed to them, and they ought to be clean, to wash their hands in innocency and so to compass God's altars and carry his vessels, and keep themselves pure. 3. Let them depend upon the presence of God with them and his protection in their removal (v. 12): You shall not go out with haste. They were to go with a diligent haste, not to lose time nor linger as Lot in Sodom, but they were not to go with a diffident distrustful haste, as if they were afraid of being pursued (as when they came out of Egypt) or of having the orders for their release recalled and countermanded: no, they shall find that, as for God, his work is perfect, and therefore they need not make more haste than good speed. Cyrus shall give them an honourable discharge, and they shall have an honourable return, and not steal away; for the Lord will go before them as their general and commander-in-chief, and the God of Israel will be their rearward, or he that will gather up those that are left behind. God will both lead their van and bring up their rear; he will secure them from enemies that either meet them or follow them, for with his favour will he compass them. The pillar of cloud and fire, when they came out of Egypt, sometimes went behind them, to secure their rear (Exod. xiv. 19), and God's presence with them would now be that to them which that pillar was a visible token of. Those that are in the way of their duty are under God's special protection; and he that believes this will not make haste.

The Humiliation of the Messiah. (b. c. 706.)

13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. 14 As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: 15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

Here, as in other places, for the confirming of the faith of God's people and the encouraging of their hope in the promises of temporal deliverances, the prophet passes from them to speak of the great salvation which should in the fulness of time be wrought out by the Messiah. As the prophecy of Christ's incarnation was intended for the ratification of the promise of their deliverance from the Assyrian army, so this of Christ's death and resurrection is to confirm the promise of their return out of Babylon; for both these salvations were typical of the great redemption and the prophecies of them had a reference to that. This prophecy, which begins here and is continued to the end of the next chapter, points as plainly as can be at Jesus Christ; the ancient Jews understood it of the Messiah, though the modern Jews take a great deal of pains to pervert it, and some of ours (no friends therein to the Christian religion) will have it understood of Jeremiah; but Philip, who hence preached Christ to the eunuch, has put it past dispute that of him speaks the prophet this, of him and of no other man, Acts viii. 34, 35. Here,

I. God owns Christ to be both commissioned and qualified for his undertaking. 1. He is appointed to it. "He is my servant, whom I employ and therefore will uphold." In his undertaking he does his Father's will, seeks his Father's honour, and serves the interests of his Father's kingdom. 2. He is qualified for it. He shall deal prudently, for the spirit of wisdom and understanding shall rest upon him, ch. xi. 2. The word is used concerning David when he behaved himself wisely, 1 Sam. xviii. 14. Christ is wisdom itself, and, in the contriving and carrying on the work of our redemption, there appeared much of the wisdom of God in a mystery, 1 Cor. ii. 7. Christ, when he was here upon earth, dealt very prudently, to the admiration of all.

II. He gives a short prospect both of his humiliation and his exaltation. See here, 1. How he humbled himself: Many were astonished at him, as they were at David when by reason of his sorrows and troubles he became a wonder unto many, Ps. lxxi. 7. Many wondered to see what base usage he met with, how inveterate people were against him, how inhuman, and what indignities were done him: His visage was marred more than any man's when he was buffeted, smitten on the cheek, and crowned with thorns, and hid not his face from shame and spitting. His face was foul with weeping, for he was a man of sorrows; he that really was fairer than the children of men had his face spoiled with the abuses that were done him. Never was man used so barbarously; his form, when he took upon him the form of a servant, was more mean and abject than that of any of the sons of men. Those that saw him said, "Surely never man looked so miserably, a worm and no man," Ps. xxii. 6. The nation abhorred him (ch. xlix. 7), treated him as the off-scouring of all things. Never was sorrow like unto his sorrow. 2. How highly God exalted him, and exalted him because he humbled himself. Three words are used for this (v. 13): He shalt be exalted and extolled and be very high. God shall exalt him, men shall extol him, and with both he shall be very high, higher than the highest, higher than the heavens. He shall prosper in his work, and succeed in it, and that shall raise him very high. (1.) Many nations shall be the better for him, for he shall sprinkle them, and not the Jews only; the blood of sprinkling shall be applied to their consciences, to purify them. He suffered, and died, and so sprinkled many nations; for in his death there was a fountain opened, Zech. xiii. 1. He shall sprinkle many nations by his heavenly doctrine, which shall drop as the rain and distil as the dew. Moses's did so only on one nation (Deut. xxxii. 2), but Christ's on many nations. He shall do it by baptism, which is the washing of the body with pure water, Heb. x. 22. So that this promise had its accomplishment when Christ sent his apostles to disciple all nations, by baptizing or sprinkling them. (2.) The great ones of the nation shall show him respect: Kings shall shut their mouths at him, that is, they shall not open their mouths against him, as they have done, to contradict and blaspheme his sacred oracles; nay, they shall acquiesce in, and be well pleased with, the methods he takes of setting up his kingdom in the world; they shall with great humility and reverence receive his oracles and laws, as those who, when they heard Job's wisdom, after his speech spoke not again, Job xxix. 9, 22. Kings shall see and arise, ch. xlix. 7. (3.) The mystery which was kept secret from the beginning of the world shall by him be made known to all nations for the obedience of faith, as the apostle speaks, Rom. xvi. 25, 26. That which had not been told them shall they see; the gospel brings to light things new and unheard of, which will awaken the attention and engage the reverence of kings and kingdoms. This is applied to the preaching of the gospel in the Gentile world, Rom. xv. 21. These words are there quoted according to the Septuagint translation: To whom he was not spoken of they shall see, and those that have not heard shall understand. As the things revealed had long been kept secret, so the persons to whom they were revealed had long been kept in the dark; but now they shall see and consider the glory of God shining in the face of Christ, which before they had not been told of—they had not heard. That shall be discovered to them by the gospel of Christ which could never be told them by all the learning of their philosophers, or the art of their diviners, or any of their pagan oracles. Much had been said in the Old Testament concerning the Messiah; much had been told them, and they had heard it. But, as the queen of Sheba found concerning Solomon, what they shall see in him, when he comes, shall far exceed what had been told them. Christ disappointed the expectations of those who looked for a Messiah according to their fancies, as the carnal Jews, but outdid theirs who looked for such a Messiah as was promised. According to their faith, nay, and beyond it, it was to them.

CHAP. LII.

Ver. 1. AWake, awake] Pluck up thy beſt heart, as we ſay, and rouſe up thy ſelf to receive the ſweet promiſes. For as mans laws, ſo Gods promiſes favour not them that are aſleep, but awake, and watchful.

O Jeruſalem the holy City) Thou that haſt been brought through the fire; being refined as ſilver is refined, and tryed as gold is tryed, Zach. 13.9.

There ſhall no more come into thee] Or, againſt thee, i. e. I will not ſuffer tyrants to vex thee, or profane ones to harbour with thee. See chap. 35.8.

Ver. 2. Shake thy ſelf from the duſt] Wherein thou layeſt along when trampled on, chap. 51.23.

Ariſe and ſit down O Jeruſalem] Rather, ariſe ſit up O Jeruſalem. It hath been noted before, that when Veſpaſian had ſubdued Judaea, money was ſtamped with a woman ſitting in the duſt with this inſcription, Judaea ſubacta.

Looſe thy ſelf from the bonds of thy neck] From thy ſpiritual ſervitude eſpecially, as Luk. 1.74. Rom. 6.19. ſhake the devils-yoke from off thy neck, geſtaque monilia sponſae & libertatis, and get on the Spouſes ornaments.

Ver. 3. For thus ſaith the Lord] Thus he pleadeth the cauſe of his people, chap. 51.22.

Ye have ſold your ſelves for nought] Heb. ye were ſold for nought; Babylonii non egerunt mihi gratias. Piſcat. Mat. Pariſ. Hiſt A. D. 1072 I had not ſo much as thanks for you from the enemy; no more hath he from the devil: and yet a letter was framed in Hildebrands dayes, as ſent from the devil, wherein he kindly thanked the Popiſh Clergy for the many ſouls they dayly ſent him to hell, by their negligence and wickedneſſe.

And ye ſhall be redeemed without money] Heb. without ſilver, ſo were we, 1 Pet. 1.18.

Ver. 4. And the Aſſyrian oppreſſed them without cauſe] Nulla injuria laceſſſitus. So did the Primitive Perſecutors, the Chriſtians of thoſe times: though they were non aliunde noſcibiles quam ex vitae integritate, ſaith Juſtin Martyr, eminent for their innocency; as Pliny alſo in his Epiſtle to Trajan the Emperour teſtifieth. What hurt had the Iſraelites ever done to malicious Moah, that he was irked at them? Num. 22.3. or the Hebrews to the Aſſyrians, that they ſhould oppreſſe them?

Ver. 5. Now therefore what have I here?] Cui bono? to what purpoſe or profit? for what wealth or worth ſuffer I my poor people to lie captives here at Babylon? Or, as others ſenſe it,Piſcator. what make I here any longer at Jeruſalem when my poor people are in durance at Babylon? why haſten I not to help them out?

They that rule over them, make them to houle] i. e. The Chaldaans, and after them the Romans, and then the Scribes and Phariſees, by binding heavy burthens grievous to be born, and laying them on mens conſciences, Mat. 23.4.

And my name continually every day (or, all the day long) is blaſphemed] That's all I get by the bargain.

Ver. 6. Therefore my people ſhall know my name] ſc. That I am Jehovah, as Exod. 6.3. the God of Amen, Iſa. 65.16. who will not ſuffer my faithfulneſs to faile, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my mouth, Pſal. 89.33, 34. And it ſhall therefore be ſo becauſe my name (that nomen majeſtativum) hath been blaſphemed and vilified: Gods people fare the better for their enemies inſolencies.

That I am he that doth ſpeak: behold it is I] Or, that it is I that do speak, ſaying, Loe here I am. This ſome underſtand of the ſecond perſon in Trinity, the eternal Son of the eternal Father, called the Word. Joh. 1.1. and there are that give us this Rule, Where the Old Teſtament bringeth in God appearing and ſpeaking, we are to underſtand it alway of the ſecond perſon. See Joh. 12.37, to 42.

Ver. 7. How beautiful!] Quam amaeni, i. e. amabiles! How amiable or deſireable. Interrogatio admirantis & exultantis.

Ʋpon the mountains] Whence they may beſt be heard, as Judg. 9.7. ſaying as there, Harken unto me, that God may harken unto you. Our Saviour (that Arch-Evangeliſt who, as ſome, is here firſt and chiefly meant by Mebasſher, him that bringeth good tydings) ſeeing the multitudes, went up into a mountaine, Mat. 5.1. which is ſaid to be in the tribe of Nephthali, and called Chriſts mount to this day. blis Apoſtles afterwards travel'd and trudg'd on foot over hills and dales (What a compaſſe fetcht Paul, Rom. 15.19? Inter valium illud eſt milliarium Germanicorum 350. ſo that he might better be called than afterwards George Eagles the Martyr was Trudge-over-the world) to preach the Goſpel and to plant Churches, to whom their feet though fouled and worn (how much more their faces?) were deemed delectable and debonnaire, Gal. 4.14. Act. 10.21. The Pope (Peters pretended ſucceſſor) holdeth forth his feet to be kiſſed, but preacheth not; or not peace, but war, which he ſtirreth up by his roaring Bulls.

Of him that bringeth good tydings] Whoſoever he be that preacheth the Goſpel (that chief work of a Miniſter) Rom. 10.15. Of Mr. John Dod it is written (and I know it to be true) that he was very Evangelical: ſtriving firſt to make men ſee their loſt condition clearly (for, ſaid he, ſenſe of miſery muſt goe before ſenſe of mercy) and then largely and excellently opening the promiſes, and the grace of God in Chriſt according to the Goſpel, looking at that as the moſt effectual preaching. Some, ſaid he, labour ſtill to keep men under terrours, loading them with threatnings, &c. leſt they ſhould not be humbled enough: but the Goſpel worketh true humiliation, not the law; it ariſeth from ſenſe of ſin and miſery joyned with hope of mercy. The damned have terrour and ſenſe of miſery enough; but that doth not humble them.

That publiſheth peace] The Goſpel is a doctrine of peace, Eph. 2.17. whoſe Authour is the God of peace, 1 Cor. 14.33. whoſe Miniſters are Meſſengers of peace, Rom. 10.15. whoſe followers are the children of peace, Luk. 10.6. &c. If any know not how they came by their peace, but are like the Iſraelitiſh women, quick of delivery before ever the Midwife (the Miniſter) can come at them, they have cauſe to ſuſpect their peace.

That bringeth good tydings] As before, (but never enough) mentioned and memorized. Some Criticks tell us, that the Hebrew word here uſed ſignifying alſo Fleſh, B. Andrews. ſhewed that the incarnation or taking fleſh ſhould be generally good news to the whole world; even the beſt tydings. The Old Church had [non-Latin text not transcribed] the Promiſe: we have [non-Latin text not transcribed] the joyful tydings.

Leo Caſtrius ex Procop. & Euſeb. That publiſheth Salvation] Publicantis Jeſum, ſo ſome have rendred it: the concrete for the abſtract.

That ſaith to Zion Thy God raigneth] Maugre the malice of earth and of hell; this is the ſum of all the good news in the world. It is happy that Chriſt liveth and raigneth, ſaid a godly man, for elſe I had utterly deſpaired.

Ver. 8. Thy watchmen ſhall lift up the voyce] Heb. the voyce of thy watchmen. ſc. Thy God raigneth: or, as in the following verſe, Break forth into joy, &c.

They lift up the voyce, they ſing together] As having no greater joy than that their children walk in the truth, 2 Joh. 4. 1 Theſ. 3.8. and the contrary.

Id eſt cominus evidentiſſime, ui Num. 14.14. Jun. For they ſhall ſee eye to eye] And be able to ſay, as 1 Joh. 1.1. That which we have ſeen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, (and what ſo ſure as ſight?) declare we unto you.

Ver. 9. Break forth into you] This is the ſubject matter of Goſpel-Miniſters diſcourſes: they ſhall call upon Gods people to rejoyce, ver. 9.10. and to repent, ver 11, 12. and ſhall ſhew them that it is as well a ſin not to rejoyce as not to repent.

Ver. 10. The Lord hath made bare his holy arm] Nudavit, id eſt, exeruit, in anſwer to your prayer, Confeſ. l. 5. c. 8. Turk. hiſt. fol. 287. chap. 51.9. God oft anſwereth his praying people ad cardinem deſiderii, (as Auſtin ſaith) letteth it be to them even as they will. Scanderbeg ever fought againſt the Turkes with his arm bare, and that with ſuch fierceneſs, that the blood did oftentimes burſt out of his lips. It is written that he with that bare arm of his ſlew three thouſand Turkes, in the time of his wars againſt them.

Shall ſee the Salvation of the Lord] Shall ſee it and ſing of it, ver. 9.

Ver. 11. Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out, &c.] Here we have a double repetition redoubled, and all little enough to bring them out of Babylon (not half, as may be probably thought, returned, which was no ſmall prejudice to thoſe that did) and us out of this wicked world; whereunto we are ſo affixed and addicted, that nothing can ſunder us but an extraordinary touch from the hand of heaven. Save your ſelves from this perverſe generation, Act. 2.40. Exter not into the path of thoſe wicked, and go not in the way of evil men: avoid it, paſſe not by it, turn from it and paſſe away, Prov. 4.14, 15. a parallel place.

Be ye clean, ye that bear the veſſels of the Lord] Id eſt qui geſtatis arma, inſtramenta, adeoque inſignia Chriſti, all ye true beleevers who are made ſpiritual Prieſts, Rev. 1.6. and eſpecially all ye holy Miniſters who (as Myſtagogues) handle the Law, Jer. 2.8. and adminiſter the Sacraments, being your ſelves choyce veſſels of honour to bear Chriſts name unto his people, Act. 9.15. See 2 Tim. 2.21.

Ver. 12. For ye ſhall not go out with haſte] Neither with fright nor flight ſhall ye depart, as once ye did out of Egypt. Diod. And this ſpiritually denoteth the mature deliberation and calm mind with which beleevers do forſake the world to follow Chriſt.

For the Lord will go before you] He will be unto you both Van and Rere. The Lord is a man of war, Exod. 15.3. yea he alone is a whole army of men, as here.

Ver. 13. Behold my ſervant ſhall deal prudently] Or, ſhall proſper, as chap. 53.10.Aug. de Civ. Dei lib. 18 cap. 29. Juſtin. contra Tryphon. O[illegible: 1 letter]ig. lib. 1 cont. coſ. Here ſome (and not unfitly) begin the next Chapter, which hath Chriſt alſo for its ſubject, as the Chaldee Paraphraſt, and ſome old Jew-Doctors acknowldge: Johannes Iſaac a Jew was converted by reading of it: This I confeſs ingenuouſly, ſaith he, that that Chapter brought me to the Faith of Jeſus Chriſt; and well it might; for taken together with theſe three laſt verſes, it is an entire Prophecy, or rather an hiſtory of Chriſts perſon and acts, both in the ſtate of his Humiliation, and Exaltation.

He ſhall be exalted and extolled and be very high] This great advancement was the conſequent of his great abaſement, Phil. 2.6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. His humane nature, wherein he ſuffered ſo for our ſakes, hath by vertue of the Union with the Deity, theſe high prerogatives; 1. An exuberancy and exceſſe of glory, Eph. 1.21. 2. The grace of divine Adoration together with the Deity, Heb. 1.6. Phil. 2.9. 3. Power over all things for his peoples uſe, Mat. 28.18. 4. Judiciary power, to be Judge of all, Act. 17.30.

Ver. 14. As many were aſtonied at thee,] Viz. at thine abaſement firſt, and then at thine advancement thereupon. All things in Chriſt are admirable: well therefore might he be called wonderful, Iſa. 9.6.

His viſage was ſo marred, more than any man] Partly through the anguiſh of his mind at his paſſion and on the croſs, and partly alſo by the miſuſage of his body, whil'ſt they made totum pro vulnere corpus, by their ſcourging, ſcratching, racking on the tree, piercing, buffeting, &c.

And his form more than the ſons of men] Pluſquam filii Adae, more than thoſe of the vulgar ſort: whereas naturally his body, being of the fineſt temperament, and no way diſeaſed, could not but be very beautiful. See Pſal. 45.2. with the Note.

Ver. 15. So ſhall he sprinkle many Nations] With his Doctrine, Ezek. 20.46. Am. 7.16. or with his blood, that blood of ſprinkling. See Heb. 10.22. or with water in baptiſme, wherein ſprinkling inſufficient.

Kings ſhall ſhut their mouths at him] As being aſtonied at his prudence and proſperity, ver. 13. They ſhall alſo ſilently and reverently ſubmit to his Scepter, and to the Laws of his Kingdom with all humble obſervance.

For that which had not been told them] The myſtery of the Goſpel ſo long time concealed, Rom. 15.21. and 16.25.

Shall they ſee] Viz. with the eyes of their faith, God enlightening both Organ and Object.

And that which they had not heard] Goſpel-truthes. See 1 Cor. 2.9. with the Note.