Rejoice ye with Jerusalem … all ye that love her . The call to rejoicing is general. Restored Jerusalem is to be hailed with joy "by all who love her," whether her own children or foreigners. To both she will be a blessing ( Isaiah 66:11-13 ). read more
The blessedness of the restored Church. The restored Church is to Isaiah the Church that will endure from the return of the captives to the end of the world. The later Jewish period and the entire Christian period are with him blended into one, and present themselves to him as constituting a single phase of the Church's life. Here he speaks to encourage the exiles, and dwells especially, though not exclusively, on the immediate blessings. I. THE CHURCH WILL TEACH HER ... read more
Sympathy with the Church's joy. I. SYMPATHY SHOULD BE FELT WITH THE PROSPERITY OF THE CHURCH . Zion stands for the Church of the ages; in her weal is wrapped up the weal of the world. If we love humanity, we love the institution created for the good and salvation of humanity. Every revival of religion at home, every fresh conquest in the fields of heathendom, affords fresh occasion of such joy. "Those who have no true joy when souls are born into the kingdom of God; when... read more
That ye may suck . Restored Jerusalem will be as a mother to all who love her, to all who have mourned for her when she lay as it were dead ( 1 Samuel 15:35 ; 2 Samuel 14:2 ). She will have "milk" to give to all—"the sincere milk of the Word" ( 1 Peter 2:2 )—and from her both Jew and Gentile will "suck out no small advantage" ( Psalms 73:10 ). She will also impart to them from the abundance of her glory. read more
I will extend peace to her like a river ; literally, I will direct peace to her , like a river. The waters of streams are in the East directed hither and thither by the agriculturist. God would have given his people "peace, as a river," long previously, had they permitted him ( Isaiah 48:18 ). And the glory of the Gentiles (comp. Isaiah 60:5 , Isaiah 60:11 ; Isaiah 61:6 , etc.). Like a flowing stream; literally, as an overflowing torrent. There is perhaps a contrast intended... read more
Peace like a river. "Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river." The prophet used the image of a river by intention, and in contrast with the figure of the sea. In ancient times, and Eastern lands, the sea was a terrible thing; so the prophet figures the wicked as like the "troubled sea, whose waters cast up mire and dirt." The sea is restless, is storm-test, is a devourer. In ancient times there seemed to be no music in her ripple, her wave-swell, or the bass of her ceaseless... read more
As one ; literally, as a man. Israel is now looked upon as grown up, and receiving comfort from God himself in Jerusalem. read more
Tender condition. "As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you." These are the analogies of truth that reach the heart through the life-experience when mere intellectual disquisition is vain. I. THE MOTHER - IDEAL CREATES THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF TENDERNESS . God is the great Mother as well as the great Father of all flesh. Therefore Christ, who came to reveal the Father, was perfect humanity. In taking, as the Divine Son of the Father, our flesh, he revealed in... read more
God our Comforter. It is the province of the teacher to instruct, of the father to direct, of the elder brother to lead, and of the mother to console. She is the comforter of the troubled heart. God, as revealed in Jesus Christ, is to us all of these in one. Like as a mother comforts her children, he comforts us. I. AS TENDERLY AS SHE . In a way so gracious and considerate that one who had received much of his healing ministry could write— "Oh, 'tis a blessed thing for me To... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 66:9
Shall I bring to the birth , etc.? i.e. "Should I arrange all the preliminary circumstances for the restoration of my people, and stop there?" (Cheyne). Nay, should I, having done so much, interpose at the last moment, to shut the womb? Without such interposition, matters have progressed so far, that the result must come. read more