Concerning the future ISAIAH. prosperity of the church. work, and in whom he will dwell, and thus the Com- || is upheld. The word in the mouths of our minisforter shall abide with the church for ever, John || ters, nay, in our own mouths, will not profit us, xiv. 16. 2d, The word of Christ shall always con- unless the Spirit work with the word, and give it tinue in the mouths of the faithful, that is, there shall || efficacy to enlighten, quicken, renew, and comfort be some in every age who, believing with the heart us. The Spirit, however, doth his work by the unto righteousness, shall, with the tongue, make || word, and in concurrence with it; and whatever is confession unto salvation: and there shall still be a pretended to be a dictate of the Spirit must be tried seed to speak Christ's holy language, and profess by the Scriptures. On this foundation the church is his holy religion. Observe well, reader, the Spirit || built, stands firm, and shall stand for ever; Christ and the word go together, and by them the church || himself being the chief corner-stone. CHAPTER LX. "The subject of this chapter is the great increase and flourishing state of the church of God, by the conversion and accession of the heathen nations to it; which is set forth in such ample and exalted terms, as plainly show that the full completion of this prophecy is reserved for future times." It is here promised, (1,) That the church should be marvellously enlightened with the knowledge and glory of God, 1, 2. (2,) That it should be wonderfully enlarged by the accession of Gentile converts, 3-8. (3,) That these converts should be very serviceable to it, 9-13. (4) That it should be in great honour and repute among men, 14-16. (5,) That it should enjoy perfect safety and profound peace and tranquillity, 17, 18. (6,) That, the members of it being all righteous, the glory and joy of it should be everlasting, 19–22. "The state of the church," says Vitringa, "is here exhibited in a perfection which approaches nearest to the divine, the most beautiful and glorious imaginable; though we are yet to seek where or when the truc exemplar of it may or shall be found." NOTES ON CHAPTER LX. b Mal. iv. 2. place dark. Thus shall the church of God be fully Verse 1. Arise, &c.—The prophet here addresses illuminated in the latter days, and thus shall she the church of God, which he supposes to be sitting shine for the perfect illumination of all flesh: see sorrowful, and exhorts her to awake and arise from chap. xi. 9; and Zech. xiv. 7. In his description of a state of darkness and mourning, and enter into a this perfect state of the Christian Church, this evanstate of light and happiness, "now that her salvation, gelical prophet is here peculiarly eloquent, displayso long desired and hoped for, is at hand, and the ing it "in the most splendid colours, and under a divine glory is about to rise upon her, and illuminate great variety of images, highly poetical, designed to the nations and people who had hitherto sat in thick give a general idea of its glories, when the fulness darkness." See Vitringa. The reader will observe of the Gentiles shall come in, and the Jews shall be the exhortation is accommodated to the Jewish or converted and gathered from their dispersions, and Hebrew style, wherein, as by lying down is signi- the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingfied a servile and calamitous condition, (chap. xlvii. 1,)|| doms of our God, and of his Christ."-Bishop Lowth. so, by rising, and standing up, a recovery out of it Verse 2. For, behold, darkness shall cover the into a free and prosperous state, as may be seen fre-earth-Ignorance, idolatry, and all kinds of errors quently. Shine-Discover thyself, as a luminary breaking forth from a dark night. Show thy native beauty: suffer thyself to be so strongly irradiated by the glory of the Lord, that thou mayest not only be enlightened, but mayest be able to enlighten others. For thy light is come-Thy flourishing and prosperous condition, an allusion to people's rising, when after a dark night the light breaks forth upon them. And the glory of the Lord-Glorious light, grace, and salvation from the Lord; or a bright display of the glory, that is, of the glorious attributes of the Lord; or, the Lord of glory, Christ, is about to make himself glorious, in some wonderful work, for thy salvation. Is risen upon thee-Like as when the sun, arising, spreads his light everywhere, leaving no|| and vices; and gross darkness the people--Like that of Egypt; the most palpable blindness and infatuation as to divine things; but the Lord--Christ, the bright and morning-star, the day-spring from on high, or, rather, the Sun of righteousness, Rev. xxii. 16; Luke i. 78; Mal. iv. 2; shall arise upon thee--By his gospel and his grace, bringing light to those that before sat in darkness, and in the shadow of death; and his glory shall be seen upon thee-Shall be wonderfully conspicuous. "The design of the Holy Spirit in this clause, as I suppose," says Vitringa, "is to describe the state of the nations of the world, at the time when God should illuminate the church with this light, as if by a new advent of his Son, and a repeated manifestation of his divine king dom. Almost all the world should be found in a similar state of darkness to that wherein the Son of God found it at his first coming; and if we might form any judgment from the state of things, from the darkness which now overspreads the earth, through the prevalence of Popery, infidelity, and immorality, in the countries professing Christianity, and Mohammedanism and paganism in the other regions of the earth, we may reasonably conclude, that these words of the prophet, at the period alluded to, will not want their exact completion." Verse 3. The Gentiles shall come to thy lightOr, shall be allured by thy light to come to thee, as travellers in a dark night, and out of their way, || when a light discovers itself make to it; so the doctrine of the gospel shall shine so bright, and be made so conspicuous by preaching and miracles, that welldisposed heathen shall not only congratulate them that profess it, and wish them much joy, but shall rejoice to participate with them in their happiness. A plain prophecy this of the calling of the Gentiles, a promise of which was made to Christ, chap. xlix. 6. And, or Yea, kings to the brightness of thy rising-That is, the greatness and glories of the church shall attract the eyes of kings, and make them willing to become her proselytes. Or, to add to thy lustre, thou shalt not only be honoured by the conversion of mean persons, but even of honourable personages, yea, of kings, embracing the Christian faith, and submitting themselves to Christ's sceptre and government: see chap. xlix. 23. of the Gentiles to Christ. B. C. 706. f the 2 abundance of the sea shall be A. M. 3298. 6 The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring igold and incense; and they shall show forth. the praises of the LORD. k 7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered 3 Or, wealth, Verse 11; Chapter lxi. 6. Genesis xxv. 4. h Psalm 1xxii. 10. Chap. lxi. 6; Matt. ii. 11. Gen. XXV. 13. alone the sincere milk of the word is to be had, must the church's newborn babes be nursed, that they may grow thereby, 1 Pet. ii. 2. Then thou shalt see —With delight, the multitudes of thy children running to thee; and flow together-As when two rivers meet, and, joining their waters, run sweetly together, as one and the same river. This denotes the abundance of their united joys and delights. Or the words may mean, they shall flock together to behold such an amazing sight. And thy heart shall fear -Or stand amazed, to see such multitudes come to the Lord Christ; and be enlarged-Both with joy and love. Because the abundance of the sea-The islands of the sea, the nations; shall be converted unto thee-Shall turn to thee in religion and affection; they that formerly so much hated thee shall now love thee. Or the sense is, The wealth and traffic of those who trade by sea, the riches of the merchants, shall be converted to thy use rather than to the use of the owners thereof. The forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee-Thou shalt not only have the wealth, but the strength of the nations to stand by thee, to protect thee, and aid thy endeavours to evangelize the world. Verses 6, 7. The multitude of camels-The treasure that is brought upon camels. By these, and such like figurative expressions in several verses of this chapter, is implied the coming in of all nations to Christ, and therefore they are brought in as presenting the chief commodities of their respective countries. The dromedaries-Or, also, or, even the Verses 4, 5. Lift up thine eyes round about—Or, || dromedaries; which are a sort of lesser camel, so in a circle, into all parts of the earth. He seems to called from their swiftness in running. For it is refer to the apostles and disciples, with their succes- said by the Arabs that they will run as far in one sors, carrying the gospel into all quarters of the day as their best horses will do in nine; and therefore world. And because it would be, as it were, a thing they are chiefly used for riding: for which they are incredible, he bids them lift up their eyes, as if they the more fit, because, as Pliny observes, they can were to behold it in some vision, or upon some endure the want of water four days together. Of watch-tower in Jerusalem. See the like expression Midian and Ephah-The Midianites and Ephahites chap. xlix. 18. All they gather themselves together were descended from Abraham, by Keturah, and -He speaks of the coming in of all nations to embrace dwelt beyond Arabia, where camels were very nuthe gospel, and unite themselves to the Christian merous, Judg. vii. 12. All they from Sheba—A Church. Thy sons shall come from far-From the country in Arabia Felix, whose queen it was that remotest parts, having heard the report of thee. came to visit Solomon, and her bringing gifts might And thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side- be a type of this. They shall bring gold and inShall be brought unto thee tenderly, as it were incense-The principal commodities with which this persons' arms, (chap. xlix. 22,) and shall have their country abounded, by which we are to understand education with thee from their infancy: there, where || whatever is precious. All the flocks of Kedar Arabia Petrea, or stony Arabia, the people inhabiting which being principally shepherds. They shall come up with acceptance-They shall not now, as heretofore, be rejected. I will glorify the house of my glory-He alludes to the temple, but must be understood as intending the gospel church, built of living stones, of which the temple at Jerusalem, with all the splendour of its ornaments, and the whole multitude of its sacrifices and oblations, was but a typical or shadowy representation. 4 11 Therefore thy gates shall be open con tinually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. 12 For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. Chap. xlix. 23; Rev. xxi. 24. Chap. lvii. 17.- Lu Chap. -y Zech. Verses 10-12. And the sons of the stranger— Namely, such as were not Israelites born, but of Gentile race; and he puts sons of strangers, by a usual Hebraism, for strangers; shall build up thy walls-As Gentile proselytes to the Jewish religion assisted the Jews in repairing the walls of Jerusalem upon their return from captivity, so Gentile converts to Christianity assisted the apostles, evan gelists, and other ministers of Christ, who were of Jewish extraction, in building and adorning the Verse 8. Who are these that fly as a cloud-Christian Church: and for many ages its builders These metaphors import the number, as well as have been almost wholly of Gentile race. And their speed, of those that should be begotten by the apos-kings shall minister unto thee-Ecclesiastical history tles' doctrine. "By this new crowd of believers || affords us many instances of kings and princes that hastening to the church," Vitringa understands "the Greeks and Asiatics, and those of the west groaning under the Ottoman empire, who, having long sat in a state of ignorance and superstition, at this period shall be freed from their yoke, and hasten to the enlightened church in multitudes, like a cloud, and with zeal and impetuosity, (like doves to their cotes or holes,) when once made acquainted with the wonderful change of things, and the mighty works wrought by God for the deliverance of his people. The flight of doves, especially when they return to their cotes, is remarkably swift and precipi-princes also shall come: nor shall they come alone; tate." Verse 9. Surely the isles shall wait for me-The countries remote from Judea, and especially the islands and continents of Europe, generally intended by the term isles. And the ships-To convey them to me; of Tarshish first-Those that traffic by sea. In naming this, he implied all places that had commerce with other nations. Concerning Tarshish, see note on chap. ii. 16. To bring thy sons from far-From the most distant countries; their silver and their gold with them-With all their treasure; unto the name of the Lord-To be presented to the Lord, and employed for the advancement of his glory, and the benefit of his church and people. Because he hath glorified thee-He will make thee honourable in the eyes of the world, and that especially by setting up the ministry of the gospel in the midst of thee. were great benefactors to her, among whom Constantine greatly excelled. For in my wrath I smote thee, &c.-As I afflicted thee in mine anger, so out of my compassions I will abundantly bless thee. The discourse here," says Vitringa, "rises, and will continue to rise till the end of the section, that the blindest may discern spiritual things involved in these corporeal figures and emblems. It is not sufficient that the nations only, with their wealth and possessions, shall be added to the church, and perform all requisite offices toward it, but kings and a great retinue shall attend them: nor shall instances of their approach be few and rare, but common and frequent; insomuch that the gates of the city shall be always left open to receive this continual accession of kings and people." The nation, &c., that will not serve thee-Do offices of kindness to thee, as the word 17y is used chap. xix. 23, or, that will not submit to Christ's sceptre; shall perish-Shall not only be subdued to thee, but shall be destroyed by the sword, or famine, or pestilence, or some other of the divine judgments. Yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted-Shall, by the peculiar interposition of a righteous providence, be brought to desolation. "This," says Lowth, "must relate to the latter days, as the Scripture calls them, when the church shall become a great mountain, and break in pieces all the kingdoms of the earth, according to Daniel's prophecy, chap. ii. 35, 44.” The great honour B. C. 706. CHAPTER LX. B. C. 706. of the church. A. M. 3298. 13 The glory of Lebanon shall • The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. A. M. 3298 come unto thee, the fir-tree, the pine- 15 Whereas thou hast been fortree, and the box together, to beautify the place saken and hated, so that no man went through of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a my feet glorious. joy of many generations. worship, that is, to prostrate themselves before her feet, and to know that he has loved her, Rev. iii. 9. Verse 15. Whereas thou hast been forsaken― Both of God, as to outward appearance, and man; and hated-Either slighted and neglected, or suffering actual miseries and slaughters; so that no man went through thee-Thy streets were left desolate, and thou wast in a manner depopulated. The state of the Christian Church, during the dark and persecuting ages of Popery, is here described, in language borrowed from Jerusalem lying in desolation. I will make thee an eternal excellency-Being reformed from idolatry and other superstitions and abomina-tions, and thy members being enlightened with the truth, and regenerated by the grace of God, and thereby rendered wise and holy, thou shalt be bless Verse 13. The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee-As Lebanon furnished cedars, and other choice timber, for building and beautifying Solomon's temple, so shall different nations contribute what is most excellent and suitable among them for supporting, establishing, enlarging, and adorning the church of Christ, here called the place of God's sanctuary,|| with allusion to the temple, an eminent type of it. See note on Psa. xlvi. 4, 5. And I will make the place of my feet glorious-The Christian Church, so called in allusion to the ark in the most holy place of the tabernacle and temple, where the divine glory, termed by the Jews the Shechinah, was wont to appear between the wings of the cherubim, over the mercy-seat, which was, as it were, the footstool of that glorious symbol of God's presence. Verse 14. The sons of them that afflicted thee-ed and exalted with continual tokens of the divine Their posterity, or themselves, for it is the manner of the Hebrews so to speak; shall come bending unto thee-Humbling themselves as penitents, and thus manifesting their respect and reverence for thee. They shall acknowledge their former errors, or the errors of their fathers, and instead of being persecutors shall become proselytes. And all they that despised thee--As a poor, mean, insignificant, and despicable people; shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet-Shall prostrate themselves before thee as humble suppliants, or rather before Christ, the head, husband, and king of his church. And they shall call thee, The city of the Lord-They shall acknowledge thee to be so, and to be so called, both from the love that God hath to thee, and from the presence of God with thee. As there is no account of any thing like this happening to the Jews, that any people, who had before persecuted and afflicted them, came and made submission to them in such a suppliant manner as is here represented, this must, of necessity, be considered as a description, either, 1st, Of that change of things which was made in the Roman empire, when the highest powers in it, even the emperors themselves, became Christians, in consequence of which the heathen became suppliants to the Christians, whom they had before treated in the most cruel and barbarous manner: or, 2d, Of that still greater change which shall take place, in this respect, when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ, and he will make his church's enemies to come and favour, and made a lasting and increasing blessing in the world. The Hebrew, yah, is literally, for a lifting up, or, an exaltation, continually, or, for ever. A joy of many generations-Hebrew, Of generation and generation. The meaning is, that the church's prosperity and happiness should be the rejoicing and comfort of many succeeding ages, or the matter of their great and continual rejoicing. Bishop Lowth translates this clause, I will make thee an everlasting boast, a subject of joy for perpetual generations. It cannot be said of the Jewish nation, since this was uttered, that it has in any degree answered these characters. For after their restoration to their own land, they were first in subjection to the Persians, afterward to the Macedonians, the successors of Alexander the Great; whose yoke they had scarcely shaken off, when they fell under the power of the Romans, who treated them with great severity, and at last destroyed them, together with their city of Jerusalem, almost to an entire extirpation. So that we are compelled to look for the accomplishment of this prophecy in the Christian Church, the perpetual excellences of which far exceed those of the Jewish, and in the glorious privileges and blessings of the religion of Christ, which are indeed, and will be, the joy of many generations. Verses 16, 17. Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles-A metaphor taken from children drawing nourishment from the breast. The sense is, that the church should draw, or receive, the wealth of h Zech. ii. 5.-i Amos viii. 9. f Chap. xxvi. 1. Rev. xxi. 23; xxii. 5. nations, and the riches and power of kings, and Neither the threats and triumphs of those that do whatever is most excellent; and that it should come violence, nor the outcries and complaints of those freely and affectionately, as milk flows from the that suffer it, shall be heard again, but every man breast of the mother. And thou shalt know-Name- || shall peaceably enjoy his own. Wasting nor dely, shall experience; that I the Lord-Hebrew, Jeho-struction-Of persons or possessions, anywhere vah; am thy Saviour―That I have undertaken to within thy borders-Thou shalt be secure from viosave, and that I do and will save thee; the mighty lence and injustice at home, and from invasion and One of Jacob-Not only of the literal, but also, and war from abroad. But thou shalt call thy walls Salespecially, of the spiritual Jacob, or Israel: as if he||vation, &c.-They shall be safe and able to defend had said, These things will certainly be accomplish- thee; thou shalt be as safe as salvation itself can ed, for he is the mighty God, and so is able; and the make thee. And the protection and security, which God of Jacob, and so is obliged by covenant with, God by his providence shall afford thee, shall be to and relation to them, to deliver and protect his peo- thee continual matter of praise and thanksgiving. ple. For brass I will bring gold, &c.-Here we This verse, and what follows to the end of the chaphave the effect of the preceding promise: Thy pov-ter, seems to relate chiefly to that peaceable and haperty shall be turned to riches; all things shall be al-py state which the church shall enjoy in the latter tered for the best: it is an allusion to the days of So- | days. lomon, when gold was as plentiful as brass. If these words be considered as intended to be taken literally, it is sufficiently evident that they are not applicable to Jerusalem, which was never so enriched, after it was rebuilt, as to have greater riches than the Jews possessed before the wars which they waged with the Babylonians; nor was their state happier. And after Herod the Great, they were in a much worse condition, Judea being reduced to a province of the Roman empire, and governed and pillaged by the deputies or vicegerents of the emperors. Therefore all this is undoubtedly spoken of the Christian Church and of spiritual riches, namely, the privileges and blessings of the gospel. I will also make thy officers peace-That is, men of peace, loving, meck, and friendly. This was far from being the case with the Jews after their return out of captivity; for,|| though those who were first set over them, after their return, namely, Zerubbabel, Nehemiah, and others, governed them peaceably and mildly, yet it was not so in the following times; and after their high-priests took upon them the government, they grievously plundered and oppressed the people, and contended with one another with the most outrageous and cruel discord, as appears from Josephus, the Jewish historian. But the governors of the Christian Church, that is, of that church which only deserves the name of Christian, have been, and always will be, mild and gentle, and men of peace and clemency. And thine exactors-Or rulers, as Dr. Righteousness-Most Verses 19, 20. The sun shall be no more thy light, &c.-The light of the sun and moon shall not be at all esteemed in comparison of the spiritual light of the church, which shall be so glorious as to eclipse all the light formerly enjoyed by her, the divine glory and majesty illuminating her much more brightly than the luminaries of heaven illuminate and adorn the theatre of nature. Or, as Lowth interprets the clause, "God's favour and the light of his countenance shall give her greater comfort and lustre than the light of the sun and moon doth to the world." Every reader must perceive that the passage is metaphorical, and it is here introduced to give the church assurance of comfort, as the preceding was to assure her of safety; so that God will not only be a shield, but a sun to her, Psa. lxxxiv. 11. The Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light-Christ shall scatter all thy darkness and ig norance, enlightening and comforting thee with the doctrines of the gospel, and the graces of his Spirit, and these blessings shall be everlasting, not waxing and waning, and suffering eclipses and settings, as the sun and moon do, but shall be constant, without shadow or change; and thy God thy glory-Always giving thee reason to glory in him; or, thy relation to him, and interest in him, as thy God, shall be thy greatest honour. Thy sun shall no more go down, &c.-Thy light and comfort shall be no more withdrawn. "If the church, under the economy of the external and typical covenant, saw only a temporary light, and underwent various changes of its state, at righteous, as before peace was put for peaceable. this time it shall rejoice for a long season with unVerse 18. Violence shall no more be heard, &c.- || changed light, in a much more constant and happy נגשין Waterland renders |