Isaiah 54
BSB
Future Blessings for Zion
1“Shout for joy, O barren woman,
who bears no children;
break forth in song and cry aloud,
you who have never travailed;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband,”
says the LORD.
2“Enlarge the site of your tent,
stretch out the curtains of your dwellings,
do not hold back.
Lengthen your ropes
and drive your stakes in deep.
3For you will spread out to the right and left;
your descendants will dispossess the nations
and inhabit the desolate cities.
4Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame;
do not be intimidated, for you will not be humiliated.
For you will forget the shame of your youth
and will remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
5For your husband is your Maker—
the LORD of Hosts is His name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
He is called the God of all the earth.
6For the LORD has called you back,
like a wife deserted and wounded in spirit,
like the rejected wife of one’s youth,”
says your God.
7“For a brief moment I forsook you,
but with great compassion I will bring you back.
8In a surge of anger
I hid My face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,”
says the LORD your Redeemer.
9“For to Me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah
would never again cover the earth.
So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
or rebuke you.
10Though the mountains may be removed
and the hills may be shaken,
My loving devotion will not depart from you,
and My covenant of peace will not be broken,”
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
11“O afflicted city, lashed by storms,
without solace,
surely I will set your stones in antimony
and lay your foundations with sapphires.
12I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
your gates of sparkling jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones.
13Then all your sons will be taught by the LORD,
and great will be their prosperity.
14In righteousness you will be established,
far from oppression,
for you will have no fear.
Terror will be far removed,
for it will not come near you.
15If anyone attacks you, it is not from Me;
whoever assails you will fall before you.
16Behold, I have created the craftsman
who fans the coals into flame
and forges a weapon fit for its task;
and I have created the destroyer
to wreak havoc.
17No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
and their vindication is from Me,”
declares the LORD.
Introduction
Isaiah 54
The death of Christ is the life of the church and of all that truly belong to it; and therefore very fitly, after the prophet had foretold the sufferings of Christ, he foretels the flourishing of the church, which is a part of his glory, and that exaltation of him which was the reward of his humiliation: it was promised him that he should see his seed, and this chapter is an explication of that promise. It may easily be granted that it has a primary reference to the welfare and prosperity of the Jewish church after their return out of Babylon, which (as other things that happened to them) was typical of the glorious liberty of the children of God, which through Christ we are brought into; yet it cannot be denied but that it has a further and principal reference to the gospel church, into which the Gentiles were to be admitted. And the first words being understood by the apostle Paul of the New Testament Jerusalem (Gal 4:26) may serve as a key to the whole chapter and that which follows. It is here promised concerning the Christian church, I. That, though the beginnings of it were small, it should be greatly enlarged by the accession of many to it among the Gentiles, who had been wholly destitute of church privileges (Isa 54:1-5). II. That though sometimes God might seem to withdraw from her, and suspend the tokens of his favour, he would return in mercy and would not return to contend with them any more (Isa 54:6-10). III. That, though for a while she was in sorrow and under oppression, she should at length be advanced to greater honour and splendour than ever (Isa 54:11, Isa 54:12). IV. That knowledge, righteousness, and peace, should flourish and prevail (Isa 54:13, Isa 54:14). V. That all attempts against the church should be baffled, and she should be secured from the malice of her enemies (Isa 54:14-17).
Cross-references: Gal 4:26 · Isa 54:1 · Isa 54:6 · Isa 54:11 · Isa 54:12 · Isa 54:13 · Isa 54:14