Bible Commentaries
Isaiah 54

Verses 1-17

EXPOSITORY NOTES ON

THE PROPHET ISAIAH

By

Harry A. Ironside, Litt.D.

Copyright @ 1952

edited for 3BSB by Baptist Bible Believer in the spirit of the Colportage ministry of a century ago

ISAIAH CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

THE CALL TO THE REMNANT TO SING

Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord. Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; for thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited" (verses 1-3).

Now after all the darkness, the gloom, the suffering, and the sorrow of the Cross, the first word of the next chapter is "Sing!" Yes, after all that JESUS has done, we sing. The Spirit of GOD calls upon the once-unfruitful people to rejoice, here directed to the remnant of Israel in the last days: "Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear." He pictures Israel turning to the Lord in that day, and being used of GOD to bring a great multitude of Gentiles, so that the desolate have more children than the married wife who has been set aside for so long. GOD uses that remnant to bring a great host to Him in that coming day. And all who are saved, both in millennial days and now, will be saved through the glorious work of which Isaiah 53:0 speaks so clearly.

So after the call to sing come GOD's promises:

"Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed,

saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee" (verses 4-10).

What wonderful promises these are! This is GOD's word to Israel. We Christians are such thieves - we steal so many things that belong to Israel and try to apply them to ourselves. At the head of many of these chapters in Isaiah, our old valued Bagster Bibles read, "Curses on the Jews," "Punishment on the Jews," "Judgment on the Jews." And then when they come to the promises we saw, "Blessings of the Church," "Joys of the Church." All the judgment passages were definitely applied to the Jews but all the glory passages to the Church. But these headings were written by uninspired men, who did not profess to give them as the Word of GOD.

The promises here refer to Israel's blessing, GOD will bring them back to Himself. He will not keep His fury forever. He says, "This is as the waters of Noah unto Me," for He promised that never again should the earth be destroyed by a flood. Just as truly He has promised the nation Israel that they will never be utterly destroyed, that some day a remnant will be saved and become a great nation, and Israel shall blossom and bud and fill the face of the whole earth with goodness.

~ end of chapter 54 ~

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