Isaiah 35
BSB
The Glory of Zion
1The wilderness and the land will be glad;
the desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose.
2It will bloom profusely
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon.
They will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendor of our God.
3Strengthen the limp hands
and steady the feeble knees!
4Say to those with anxious hearts:
“Be strong, do not fear!
Behold, your God will come with vengeance.
With divine retribution He will come to save you.”
5Then the eyes of the blind will be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6Then the lame will leap like a deer
and the mute tongue will shout for joy.
For waters will gush forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert.
7The parched ground will become a pool,
the thirsty land springs of water.
In the haunt where jackals once lay,
there will be grass and reeds and papyrus.
8And there will be a highway
called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not travel it—
only those who walk in the Way—
and fools will not stray onto it.
9No lion will be there,
and no vicious beast will go up on it.
Such will not be found there,
but the redeemed will walk upon it.
10So the redeemed of the LORD will return
and enter Zion with singing,
crowned with everlasting joy.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee.
Introduction
Isaiah 35
As after a prediction of God's judgments upon the world (ch. 24) follows a promise of great mercy to be had in store for his church (Isa 25:1-12), so here after a black and dreadful scene of confusion in the foregoing chapter we have, in this, a bright and pleasant one, which, though it foretel the flourishing estate of Hezekiah's kingdom in the latter part of his reign, yet surely looks as far beyond that as the prophecy in the foregoing chapter does beyond the destruction of the Edomites; both were typical, and it concerns us most to look at those things which they were typical of, the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of heaven. When the world, which lies in wickedness, shall be laid in ruins, and the Jewish church, which persisted in infidelity, shall become a desolation, then the gospel church shall be set up and made to flourish. I. The Gentiles shall be brought into it (Isa 35:1, Isa 35:2, Isa 35:7). II. The well-wishers to it, who were weak and timorous, shall be encouraged (Isa 35:3, Isa 35:4). III. Miracles shall be wrought both on the souls and on the bodies of men (Isa 35:5, Isa 35:6). IV. The gospel church shall be conducted in the way of holiness (Isa 35:8, Isa 35:9). V. It shall be brought at last to endless joys (Isa 35:10). Thus do we find more of Christ and heaven in this chapter than one would have expected in the Old Testament.
Cross-references: Isa 25:1 · Isa 35:1 · Isa 35:2 · Isa 35:7 · Isa 35:3 · Isa 35:4 · Isa 35:5 · Isa 35:6 · Isa 35:8 · Isa 35:9 · Isa 35:10