Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Isaiah 49:17

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Isaiah 49:17. Thy children shall make haste - "They that destroyed thee shall soon become thy builders"] Auctor Vulgatae pro בניך banayich, videtur legisse בוניך bonayich, unde vertit, structores tui; cui et Septuaginta fere consentiunt, qui verterunt ωκοδομηθης, aedificata es, prout in Plantiniana editione habetur; in Vaticana sive Romana legitur, οικοδομηθηση, aedificaberis. Hisce etiam Targum Jonathanis aliquatenus consentit, ubi, et aedificabunt. Confer infra Esai. liv. 13, ad quem locum rabbini quoque notarunt en tractatu Talmudico Berachot, c. ix., quod non legendum sit בניך banayich, id est, filii tui; sed בוניך bonayich, aedificatores tui. Confer not. ad librum Prec. Jud. part ii., p. 226, ut et D Wagenseil Sot. p. 253, n. 9. "The author of the Vulgate appears to have read בוניך bonayich for בניך banayich, as he translates it by structures tui, 'thy builders.' The Septuagint is almost the same with the Vulgate, having ωκοδομηθης, art built, as in the Plantin edition: but the Vatican or Roman copy reads οικοδομηθηση, thou shalt be built. To these readings the Targum of Jonathan has some sort of correspondence, translating et aedificabunt, 'and they shall build.' See chap. liv. 13; on which place the rabbins also remark, in the Talmudic tract Berachoth, c. 9, that we should not read בניך banayich, thy sons, but בוניך bonayich, thy builders. See the note in Prae. Jud. part ii., p. 226, and also D. Wagenseil, Sot. p. 253, n. 9." See also Breithaupt. not. ad Jarchi in loc.; and the note on this place in De Sac. Poes. Hebr. Praelect. xxxi. Instead of בוניך or בניך bonayich, thy builders, several MSS. read בניך baneycha, thy sons. So also the Syriac: see the above note.

Shall go forth of thee - "Shall become thine offspring."] ממך יצאו mimmech yetseu, shall proceed, spring, issue, from thee, as thy children. The phrase is frequently used in this sense: see Isaiah 11:1; Micah 5:2; Nahum 1:11. The accession of the Gentiles to the Church of God is considered as an addition made to the number of the family and children of Sion: see Isaiah 49:21-22, and Isaiah 60:4. The common rendering, "shall go forth of thee, or depart from thee," is very flat, after their zeal had been expressed by "shall become thy builders:" and as the opposition is kept up in one part of the sentence, one has reason to expect it in the other, which should be parallel to it.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Israel rebuilt (49:8-50:3)

Once more God promises the return of the captive Jews to their homeland. God will protect them along the journey and help them as they rebuild their ruined country (8-10). Whether exiled in Babylon or scattered in other places, the people will return home amid much rejoicing (11-13).
Some of the Jews thought God had forgotten them. God now shows that for him this is impossible (14-16). Israel will return and rebuild its homeland. Opponents who try to ruin Israel’s work will not be successful and will leave in shame and defeat (17-18). People born in exile will flock to the rebuilt Jerusalem. The land previously uninhabited and in ruins will become well populated and prosperous again (19-21). Scattered Jews in other countries will also return, helped by generous aid from the nations among whom they have lived (22-23).
Among the exiles were some who apparently doubted the prophet’s promise of restoration, for Babylon seemed unconquerable. How can a captive people possibly be freed when they are in the grip of such a powerful tyrant (24)? God replies that he can do it. He reminds the doubting exiles that he is the all-powerful God and Israel’s covenant redeemer. He will crush the Babylonians in a judgment suited to the cruel oppression that they inflicted on their helpless victims (25-26).
Other Jews blamed God for their troubles, as if he had cast them off like a husband who divorces his wife or a father who sells his children to pay off his debts. God replies that they have no evidence to support such an accusation, for he has neither ‘divorced’ them nor ‘sold’ them. Rather their sins are the cause of their troubles (50:1). They ignored God when he spoke to them through his servants the prophets. But he still loves them and has the power to save them. Nothing in all creation can withstand his power (2-3).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"But Zion said, Jehovah hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, these may forget, yet will not I forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee on the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. Thy children make haste; thy destroyers and they that make thee waste shall go forth from thee, Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold; all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith Jehovah, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all as with an ornament, and gird thyself with them like a bride. For, as for thy waste and thy desolate places, and thy land that hath been destroyed, surely now shalt thou be too strait for the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away. The children of thy bereavement shall yet say in thine ears, the place is too strait for me; give place to me that I may dwell. Then shalt thou say in thy heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have been bereaved of my children, and am solitary, an exile, and wandering to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where were they?"

"Jehovah hath forsaken me" This verse expresses the extreme discouragement and depression that were doubtless felt by the exiles in Babylon; but the same feelings of frustration and sorrow were felt by the Son of God Himself, the True Israel of God, during his earthly ministry, a fact already mentioned in Isaiah 49:4, above, and suggested in Isaiah 42:4. One of the cries of Jesus Christ from the Cross, "My God, My God, Why hast thou forsaken me"? (Matthew 27:46) is proof of this.

"Can a woman forget her sucking child" God here declared that such is possible; and every day's newspaper is the proof of it, as new-born infants are deserted in parking lots and filling stations; but Jehovah here declared that his devotion to his children was and shall forever be invariably dependable and constant. The saddest things on earth today must surely include the failure of mothers to love and preserve their own children. Shakespeare made one of his characters, Lady Macbeth, declare that, "I would, while it was smiling in my face, have plucked my nipple from his toothless gums, and dashed his brains out!"Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act. I Scene 7. There have also been instances of human cannibalism in which basic instincts were similarly contradicted, as in 2 Kings 6:18; 2 Kings 6:29. Despite such rare exceptions, however, "The nearest thing on earth to God's unfailing love is the love of a mother for her children."Pulpit Commentary, Vol. II, p. 233. The essential message of these verses is simply that, "God's parental love surpasses that of any human mother."Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 644.

"I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands" The custom of pagan worshippers of tatooing the name or symbol of their heathen god upon their bodies might have suggested this statement; but it was a far greater reality for God to engrave the names of his children upon the palms of his hands. The vast difference between the heathen ethnic religions, and the true religion appears in the fact that in pagan worship, it was the worshipper who was engraved; but here it is God who engraves himself! The so-called studies in "Comparative Religions" never seem to catch on to this point. In the pagan religions, it was always man who made the sacrifice; the fairest maiden was bound over to the dragon, and the boldest warrior went out to give his life for the people. A man, such as Prometheus, was bound to the rock forever in order to procure fire for the people; but in Christianity, God himself, in the person of His Son Jesus Christ, makes the supreme sacrifice and dies upon the Cross for the sins of the world.

Isaiah 49:17-18 depict the return of the children of Zion and also the return of "her destroyers," i.e., Babylon, Assyria, etc., as coming "unto thee," that is, returning to the true worship of the God of Israel. As Hailey declared, "If there was any fulfillment of this prophecy upon the return of the Jews from Babylon, it was only minimal; the full realization was under the messianic Servant."Homer Hailey, p. 12.

Isaiah 49:19-20, declare that the best days of Israel (the New Israel) are ahead of her, when her new family will overflow all bounds.

"The New Testament applies such promises not to `the present Jerusalem,' but to `the Jerusalem which is above,' (Galatians 4:25-27); see also Isaiah 54:1, i.e., to the universal church in heaven and on earth. The ruins of the city (the literal Jerusalem) were indeed rebuilt in the 6th and 5th centuries; but these prophecies transcend the modest scale of those events."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 616.

The meaning of Isaiah 49:19 is simply that, "The growth of the Church would necessarily spread itself far beyond the limits of Palestine, and would ultimately require the whole earth for its habitation."Pulpit Commentary, Vol. II, p. 233. That this is indeed the meaning of the passage appears in the fact that there was no sudden rush of populations into Palestine after the return of the captives from Babylon.

Significantly, there appeared to be astonishment on the part of Israel at this great increase of "her children" following her bereavement; but the note of joyful appreciation for this great increase, which should have been Israel's reaction, is totally missing from the prophecy. Why? The answer is that Israel did not appreciate it; in fact they resented it and opposed it with every weapon of opposition that they could muster. They hounded the missionaries all over Europe, contrived the death of James, and would doubtless have destroyed the Church of God if it had been in their power to do so.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Thy children - The children of Zion - the true people of God. But there is here considerable variety in the interpretation. The Hebrew of the present text is בניך bânâyı̂k (“thy sons”). But Jerome reads it, Structores tui - ‘Thy builders;’ as if it were בונין. The Septuagint renders it, ‘Thou shalt be speedily built (ταχὺ οἰκοδομηθήσῃ tachu oikodomēthēsē) by those by whom thou hast been destroyed.’ The Chaldee renders it, ‘Those that rebuild thy waste places shall hasten.’ The Syriac reads it, ‘Thy sons;’ and the Arabic, ‘Thou shalt be rebuilt by those by whom thou hast been destroyed.’ But there is no good authority for changing the present Hebrew text. nor is it necessary. The sense probably is, the descendants of those who dwelt in Zion, who are now in exile, shall hasten to rebuild the wastes of the desolate capital, and restore its ruins. And may it not mean, that in the great work under the Messiah, of restoring the nation to the worship of God, and of spreading the true religion, God would make use of those who dwelt in Zion; that is, of the Jews, as his ambassadors?

They that made thee waste - Language drawn from the destruction of Jerusalen. The sense is, that they would seek no longer to retain possession, but would permit its former inhabitants to return, and engage in repairing its ruins.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

17.Thy builders hasten. He affirms what had been briefly stated in the former verse; for it might have been thought that there was no ground for what he had now asserted about the unceasing care which God takes of his Church and of her walls, which he permits to be razed to their foundations, and therefore he adds the explanation, that it will indeed be thrown down, but will afterwards be built anew. Builders. From this word we may learn what is the true method of restoring the Church, namely, if the Lord send “builders, ⁽⁷⁾ to rear it, and next if he drive far away the destroyers who demolish it. Though God could, by himself, and without the aid of men, rebuild the Church, yet he deigns to employ their hands; and although he alone, by the secret influence of his Spirit, completes this whole building, yet he blesses their labor, that it may not be useless. From him, therefore, we ought to ask and look for builders; for it belongs to him to render them “sufficient,” as Paul also informs us, (2 Corinthians 3:5,) and to assign to each his department.

We ought also to pray not only that he may “send forth laborers into his harvest,” (Matthew 9:38,) but that he may recruit their strength and efficaciously direct them, so that they may not labor in vain; for, when the doctrine of the Gospel is preached with any advantage, it arises from his extraordinary goodness. But even this would not be enough, if he did not “drive destroyers far away;” for Satan, by innumerable arts, invades and assails the Church, and is in no want of servants and attendants, who direct their whole energy to destroy, or spoil, or hinder the Lord’s building. We ought, therefore, constantly to entreat that he would ward off their attacks; and if the result be not entirely according to our expectations, let us blame our own sins and ingratitude; for the Lord was ready to bestow those blessings abundantly upon us.

(7) “Maistres charpentiers et massons.” “Master carpenters and masons.”

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 49

Now in chapter 49, we have a fabulous prophecy of Jesus Christ in the first seven verses as God speaks of the Redeemer that He is sending.

Listen, O coasts, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; For the LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me ( Isaiah 49:1-2 );

You go back to Psalms 22:1-31 , that glorious prophetic Messianic psalm of David, and we read there in Psalms 22:1-31 verse Isaiah 49:8 , or no, verse Isaiah 49:9 : "But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts. I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly" ( Psalms 22:9-10 ). And that is the equivalent here to, "Thou hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hast thou made mention of my name. You have made my mouth like a sharp sword." We are told that the word the goes forth out of his mouth is like a sharp, two-edged sword--Revelation. "In the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me."

And he said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel ( Isaiah 49:3 ),

And in this Israel is the true name expressed. That is in Christ, he was a man who was governed by God.

in whom I will be glorified. Then I said, I have labored in vain ( Isaiah 49:3-4 ),

"For He came to His own, His own received Him not" ( John 1:11 ). He was despised and rejected. He was crucified. He said, "I have labored in vain."

I have spent my strength for nothing, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God ( Isaiah 49:4 ).

As they rejected Him, as they despised Him, His coming to them was in vain.

And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him ( Isaiah 49:5 ),

The purpose of Jesus Christ was to bring Jacob back to God, back to the Father, and to restore the preserved of Israel. "I will also give thee." Beg your pardon, I jumped.

Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength. And he said, It is a light thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the eaRuth ( Isaiah 49:5-6 ).

And so Jesus, who was rejected by the Jews, has become a light unto the Gentiles, and the gospel of Jesus Christ has come unto us who were once alienated from God and far off from the promises. But through Him, we've been brought nigh. Oh, thank God for the light of Jesus Christ unto the Gentiles.

Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despised, to him whom the nation abhorred, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee ( Isaiah 49:7 ).

So the work of Christ among the Gentiles, the kings worshipping and so forth as the gospel of Jesus Christ has permeated many kingdoms of the Gentiles. Now even so, God is going to preserve the people of Israel.

Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in the day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; That you may say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in the high places. They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them ( Isaiah 49:8-10 ).

This brings to mind in Revelation chapter 7, "And they shall hunger and thirst no more and neither shall the sun shine upon them and all." And it is equivalent to Revelation 7:16 .

And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted. Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of [China] Sinim ( Isaiah 49:11-12 ).

Is the land of the east.

Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me ( Isaiah 49:13-14 ).

Now He speaks here about the fact that He's going to bring them back again. He'll gather them from the north and from the west and from the east. And yet they are going to say, "The Lord has forsaken me." And you go today and the declaration of so many Jews is, "Where was God during the Holocaust? God has forsaken us." And they are still proclaiming that God has forsaken them. But God said,

Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? well, they may forget, but I will not forget thee ( Isaiah 49:15 ).

They accused God of forsaking them. God said, "No way. I haven't forgotten you. Can a nursing mother forget her nursing child?"

You remember in Psalms 137:1-9 is the psalm of Babylonian captivity, "When we were in Babylon by the rivers we sat down. We wept when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps on the willows in the midst thereof. And they that had carried us away captive said, 'Sing us one of your songs.' And they required some happy songs from us saying, 'Sing one of the songs of Zion.' But how shall we sing the Lord's songs in a strange land?" ( Psalms 137:1-4 ) Now some of the old rabbis say that the next two verses are God's response to this cry. And that it was actually God who declared, "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy" ( Psalms 137:4-6 ). And some of the old rabbis say that that is God speaking there in response to the people who were captives in Babylon, who said, "God has forgotten us. God has forsaken us." And, of course, here God said, "Can a mother forsake her or forget her nursing child? She would not have compassion, well she might. But I won't forget." You might find case where you say, "Well, there's a mother forgot." God says, "It's all right, but I still won't."

Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. Your children shall make haste; your destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee. Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth. For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away. The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell. Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been? ( Isaiah 49:16-21 )

So he speaks about them coming into the land and being prospered and the land being too small for them and their desire to extend and expand their borders.

Now the regathering and the rebuilding of the nation Israel has been a very remarkable thing in our days. And God's purposes are to be fulfilled there. It's exciting, because God fulfilled His promise. He's brought them back in the land. They are dwelling there. But they are seeking to expand. They say, "The area that we have is too small." And if you look at it, it is a very small area. Not much. Well, actually, you can drive from one side of Israel to the other in two hours; you can drive from one end to the other in six hours. Gives you the idea of the size of Israel. It's two hours wide and six hours long driving in a car. But it's about 5,800 years deep. The history that is there in the land goes back.

Now there are those who see an interesting scenario arising in the Middle East right now. I've heard some Bible scholars suggest the possibility and some analysts, and I've talked to some Israelis who have suggested also the possibility, that the next outbreak of warfare over there in the Middle East, that Israel plans for it to be the last outbreak by so thoroughly defeating all of those who have risen against them that they will not be able to rise against them again. They intend to thoroughly thrash their enemies. All of the Arab states that have been giving them such a bad time, they are planning to go full on against the Arab world. And a part of their plan, very shrewd indeed, is to take Saudi Arabia and immediately cut the price of oil in half. And who in the world would object? That's pretty smart. You see, our world problems today, especially the problem of starving, the great starvation that is coming in the third world is all the result of the increased oil prices. The whole problem that we're having here with inflation, our whole problem of economy is based to the increased oil prices. That's where it all comes from.

Now the byproducts of the oil, the fertilizers and the chemical fertilizers that help grow the crops have become so expensive that your food bill has gone up tremendously. The whole inflationary cycle can be placed on the increased oil prices. And it is a thing that is actually causing millions of people to starve to death in the third world. Because they do not have the economic base to afford the worldwide inflation that has ensued from the increased oil prices. Now those men in Libya, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, they could care less what havoc they've wrecked upon the world. And when the Israelis go in and take the oil and cut the prices in half, everybody is going to hail them as the heroes, because suddenly this whole problem of world economy is going to be reversed. Price of gasoline will go down, price of raw materials will go down. The whole thing comes back to the oil. So it's a wise plan, and who's going to object?

So God speaks here that they're going to say, "Hey, we need to expand our borders. There's not enough room." The land will be too narrow for you by reason of the inhabitants.

Thus saith the Lord GOD ( Isaiah 49:22 ),

Now God here speaks of the judgment He's going to bring on their oppressors.

Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring their sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me ( Isaiah 49:22-23 ).

The glorious day of Israel's future when the kings of the earth come and pay their homage year by year.

Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contends with you, and I will save thy children ( Isaiah 49:24-25 ).

God is saying, "I'll fight with those that fight with you." So any nation or any people that opposes the Jews is not just contending with a race of people. They are contending with the eternal God of heaven.

And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob ( Isaiah 49:26 ).

The whole world will know it, and of course, God tells us in that day that He destroys the invading Russian army with her allies shall the whole world know that I am God. And I'll be sanctified before the nations of the earth.

"

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Zion’s prominence before God 49:14-26

God had not forgotten Israel. Even though He would leave her for a time, He would re-gather all her children from all over the world to Himself. Therefore she should continue to trust in Him.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Isaiah saw the builders of Jerusalem’s breached walls hurrying to rebuild them after their destroyers had departed. In other words, Jerusalem would not be in a vulnerable condition for very long, relatively speaking. The builders were the sons that Zion thought had been denied her. The Hebrew word translated "builders," bonayik, is almost identical to the word translated "sons," banayik, and may have been deliberately ambiguous to communicate both ideas. Originally only the consonants, which are identical, appeared in the text.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Thy children shall make haste,.... Regenerate persons, young converts, such as are born again of incorruptible seed by the word; these shall flock to the church,

as doves to the windows; join themselves to her, and submit to Gospel ordinances, and

make haste, and delay not, to keep the Lord's commandments; which is no small pleasure, joy, and comfort to the church of God. Some render it, "thy builders" m "shall make haste"; Gospel ministers, who are wise masterbuilders under Christ; these shall come with all readiness and cheerfulness, and build in the temple, the church of God, and rebuild her walls, and repair her breaches:

thy destroyers and they that made thee waste, shall go forth of thee; tyrants and persecutors of the church shall cease, and be no more; and false teachers, that corrupt the minds of men, subvert their faith, and destroy their souls, as antichrist and his ministers, shall be drove out of the church, and destroyed by Christ, the Head of it; see

Revelation 11:18.

m בניך "structores vel aedificatores tui", Munster, Montanus, Calvin, Tigurine version.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.   14 But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.   15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.   16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.   17 Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.

      The scope of these verses is to show that the return of the people of God out of their captivity, and the eternal redemption to be wrought out by Christ (of which that was a type), would be great occasions of joy to the church and great proofs of the tender care God has of the church.

      I. Nothing can furnish us with better matter for songs of praise and thanksgiving, Isaiah 49:13; Isaiah 49:13. Let the whole creation join with us in songs of joy, for it shares with us in the benefits of the redemption, and all they can contribute to this sacred melody is little enough in return for such inestimable favours, Psalms 96:11. Let there be joy in heaven, and let the angels of God celebrate the praises of the great Redeemer; let the earth and the mountains, particularly the great ones of the earth, be joyful, and break forth into singing, for the earnest expectation of the creature that waits for the glorious liberty of the children of God (Romans 8:19; Romans 8:21) shall now be abundantly answered. God's people are the blessings and ornaments of the world, and therefore let there be universal joy, for God has comforted his people that were in sorrow and he will have mercy upon the afflicted because of his compassion, upon his afflicted because of his covenant.

      II. Nothing can furnish us with more convincing arguments to prove the most tender and affectionate concern God has for his church, and her interests and comforts.

      1. The troubles of the church have given some occasion to question God's care and concern for it, Isaiah 49:14; Isaiah 49:14. Zion, in distress, said, The Lord has forsaken me, and looks after me no more; my Lord has forgotten me, and will look after me no more. See how deplorable the case of God's people may be sometimes, such that they may seem to be forsaken and forgotten of their God; and at such a time their temptations may be alarmingly violent. Infidels, in their presumption, say God has forsaken the earth (Ezekiel 8:12), and has forgotten their sins,Psalms 10:11. Weak believers, in their despondency, are ready to say, "God has forsaken his church and forgotten the sorrows of his people." But we have no more reason to question his promise and grace than we have to question his providence and justice. He is as sure a rewarder as he is a revenger. Away therefore with these distrusts and jealousies, which are the bane of friendship.

      2. The triumphs of the church, after her troubles, will in due time put the matter out of question.

      (1.) What God will do for Zion we are told, Isaiah 49:17; Isaiah 49:17. [1.] Her friends, who had deserted her, shall be gathered to her, and shall contribute their utmost to her assistance and comfort: Thy children shall make haste. Converts to the faith of Christ are the children of the church; they shall join themselves to her with great readiness and cheerfulness, and flock into the communion of saints, as doves to their windows. "Thy builders shall make haste" (so some read it), "who shall build up thy houses, thy walls, especially thy temple; they shall do it with expedition." Church work is usually slow work; but, when God's time shall come, it shall be done suddenly. [2.] Her enemies, who had threatened and assaulted her, shall be forced to withdraw from her: Thy destroyers, and those who made thee waste, who had made themselves masters of the country and ravaged it, shall go forth of thee. By Christ the prince of this world, the great destroyer, is cast out, is dispossessed, has his power broken and his attempts quite baffled.

      (2.) Now by this it will appear that Zion's suggestions were altogether groundless, that God has not forsaken her, nor forgotten her, nor ever will. Be assured, [1.] That God has a tender affection for his church and people, Isaiah 49:15; Isaiah 49:15. In answer to Zion's fears, God speaks as one concerned for his own glory (he takes himself to be reflected upon if Zion say, The Lord has forsaken me, and he will clear himself), as one concerned also for his people's comfort; he would not have them droop, and be discouraged, and give way to any uneasy thoughts. "You think that I have forgotten you. Can a woman forget her sucking child?" First, It is not likely that she should. A woman, whose honour it is to be of the tender sex as well as the fair one, cannot but have compassion for a child, which, being both harmless and helpless, is a proper object of compassion. A mother, especially, cannot but be concerned for her own child; for it is her own, a piece of herself, and very lately one with her. A nursing mother, most of all, cannot but be tender of her sucking child; her own breasts will soon put her in mind of it if she should forget it. But, Secondly, It is possible that she may forget. A woman may perhaps be so unhappy as not to be able to remember her sucking child (she may be sick, and dying, and going to the land of forgetfulness), or she may be so unnatural as not to have compassion on the son of her womb, as those who, to conceal their shame, are the death of their children as soon as they are their life, Lamentations 4:10; Deuteronomy 28:57. But, says God, I will not forget thee. Note, God's compassions to his people infinitely exceed those of the tenderest parents towards their children. What are the affections of nature to those of the God of nature! [2.] That he has a constant care of his church and people (Isaiah 49:16; Isaiah 49:16): I have engraven thee upon the palms of my hands. This does not allude to the foolish art of palmistry, which imagines every man's fate to be engraved in the palms of his hands and to be legible in the lines there, but to the custom of those who tie a string upon their hands or fingers to put them in mind of things which they are afraid they shall forget, or to the wearing of signet or locket-rings in remembrance of some dear friend. His setting them thus as a seal upon his arm denotes his setting them as a seal upon his heart, and his being ever mindful of them and their interests, Song of Solomon 8:6. If we bind God's law as a sign upon our hand (Deuteronomy 6:8; Deuteronomy 6:11; Deuteronomy 6:18), he will engrave our interests as a sign on his hand, and will look upon that and remember the covenant. He adds, "Thy walls shall be continually before me; thy ruined walls, though no pleasing spectacle, shall be in my thoughts of compassion." Do Zions' friends favour her dust?Psalms 102:14. So does her God. Or, "The plan and model of thy walls, that are to be rebuilt, is before me, and they shall certainly be built according to it." Or, "Thy walls (that is, thy safety) are my continual care; so are the watchmen on thy walls." Some apply his engraving his church on the palms of his hands to the wounds in Christ's hands when he was crucified; he will look on the marks of them, and remember those for whom he suffered and died.