Verse 6
6. Set mine eyes upon them Namely, for good, that is, to do good to them, not only by preparing their way before them, thus making their abode in the land of exile tolerable, but especially by bringing them into more full possession of their spiritual heritage.
Will bring them again These words contain a meaning deeper and richer than a mere literal return to Palestine. For, as a matter of fact, to the great mass of the people this promise, in this sense, had no fulfilment at all. A mere remnant of those carried away came back, but, for the great body of the people, the captivity was the beginning of a dispersion which has continued till this present time.
The higher and more universal import of these words was spiritual. By going away into exile, and submitting to the hard discipline of the captivity, they came into the land of promise. God cast down the scaffolding of their political life, in order that the temple of spiritual truth might stand forth in all its divine beauty. He removed the merely mechanical and earthly pressure which held the people together, in order that the forces of life might have freer play. He destroyed them as a nation to exalt them as a people. That this is the sense here intended is evident from the seventh verse words, the full blessedness of which can never be exhausted.
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