Isaiah 35

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 35:10

The ransomed - פדויי peduyey , from פדה padah , "to redeem by paying a price." Those for whom a price was paid down to redeem them from bondage and death. Sighing shall flee away - אנחה anachah . Never was a sorrowful accent better expressed than in this strong guttural word, an-ach-ah; nearly the same with the Irish in their funeral wailings, och-och-on. The whole nation express all their mournful accents by these three monosyllables. This chapter contains the following... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 35:1

The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them ; rather, the wilderness , and the dry place , shall be glad . The Church, that has been long wasted and kept under by the wicked, shall, at their destruction, feel a sense of relief, and so of joy. The desert shall rejoice, and blossom. The first result of the joy shall be a putting forth of lovely products. Blossoms, beautiful as the rose or the narcissus (Kay), shall spring up all over the parched ground, and make it... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 35:1-2

Changed circumstances following the return of Divine favor. This, which is expressed in the figures of these verses, may be further illustrated by the experience of David. His "bones waxed old through his roaring all the day long," while God hid his face from him. He sang again the old songs when God "restored unto him the joy of his salvation." "In contrast to the ruin of Edom, the prophet now describes Israel's triumphant march home through the blossoming wilderness" (Matthew Arnold). Two... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 35:1-7

Transformation by the truth. Accepting these words as Messianic in their scope, we may treat them as descriptive of that most blessed transformation which is effected, in the individual man and in the nation, by the gospel When the truth of Christ is made efficacious by the Spirit of God, and has had time to work out its true results, there will be found— I. ILLUMINATION OF THE UNDERSTANDING . " The eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 35:1-10

THE GLORY OF THE LAST TIMES . On the punishment of God's enemies will follow the peace, prosperity, and glory of his Church. Previously, the Church is in affliction, waste, and desolate. Its enemies once removed, destroyed, swept out of the way, it rises instantly in all its beauty to a condition which words are poor to paint. The highest resources of the poetic art are called in to give some idea of the glory and happiness of the final Church of the redeemed. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 35:1-10

The glory of the Church not temporal greatness, but spiritual perfection Amid the wealth of metaphor which Isaiah employs to depict the final prosperity, glory, and happiness of the Church, it is remarkable how little use is made of any images drawn from the conditions or circumstances of earthly grandeur. Images of natural beauty are principally employed—the shady forest, the spreading cedar tree, the rich luxuriance of arable and pasture land, the choice beauty of the most lovely among... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 35:1-10

Glories of the Messianic age. This is a picture of the happy and glorious condition of Israel after the return from Captivity. Nature is beheld rejoicing with man; and the whole scene is suffused with the light of a universal spiritual joy. I. THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE NATURAL WORLD . The desert will rejoice "like the narcissus," the beautiful white flower found in abundance in spring-time in the Plain of Sharon. A ringing musical cry shall break out from those solitudes. The... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 35:2

It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing ; rather, with dancing and singing . Dancing and singing were the ordinary manifestations of religions joy ( Exodus 15:1 , Exodus 15:20 , Exodus 15:21 ; 11:34 ; 21:19-21 ; 2 Samuel 6:5 , 2 Samuel 6:14 , 2 Samuel 6:15 ; Psalms 30:11 , etc.), and would naturally follow the great deliverance of the Church from the power of its enemies. The clause is a touch of realism intruded into a prolonged metaphor or... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 35:3

Strengthen ye the weak hands . In the Church of the redeemed there will be "weak" brethren as well as strong, "feeble" as well as healthful (see 1 Corinthians 3:1 ; Galatians 6:1 ; Hebrews 5:12-14 ). God, by the mouth of his prophet, calls on the strong to impart of their strength to their weaker brethren, uplifting their "weak hands," as Aaron and Hur did those of Moses ( Exodus 17:12 ), and "confirming" or sustaining their "feeble knees." So St. Paul: "We that are strong ought to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 35:3

Inspirations to energy. "Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees." It is not enough to be sorry for the woes of others. Sympathy may be a sort of mental "minor," wherewith we simply soothe ourselves. We must be earnest and inspirational. Pity must be practical. "Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand!" We have plenty of critics and satirists; we want men who will help to save . I. WE MAY STRENGTHEN BY OUR WORDS . "Say to them that are of a... read more

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