1.
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.
Isaiah 54:1. Sing, O barren— We have often had occasion to observe, that the covenant between God and his people is represented in Scripture under that of marriage. See the notes on Solomon's Song, and chap. Isa 50:1 of our prophet. If there were any doubt of the application of this chapter to the church of believers under the new oeconomy, according to the analysis, St. Paul's application in Gal 4:27 would be wholly sufficient to determine it.
2.
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;
3.
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.
4.
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.
5.
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.
Isaiah 54:5. For thy Maker is thine husband— See Jeremiah 3:20. In the original the verse may be divided into a stanza of four lines; for it is undoubtedly poetry, in which the first and third, and the second and fourth, are to be connected together. This will make the sense run thus: For thy Maker is thine husband, and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel: the Lord of Hosts is his name; the God of the whole earth shall he be called. See Bishop Lowth.
6.
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.
Isaiah 54:6. For the Lord, &c.— For as a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, the Lord calls thee against as a wife of youth, after she had been despised, saith thy God.
7.
For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
Isaiah 54:7. For a small moment, &c.— The contrast, or antithesis, used in this and the following verse, illustrates in the most pathetic manner the mercy and affection of God toward his servants in general. Vitringa is of opinion, that the little time of dereliction here spoken of, refers to the yoke of the law, and the legal principles with which the first believers were incumbered, before they were entirely emancipated into the liberty of the Gospel.
8.
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.
9.
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.
10.
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.
11.
O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.
12.
And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.
13.
And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
14.
In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.
15.
Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.
16.
Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
17.
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.