Bible Commentaries

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.

Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear. — O Church Christian, O Jerusalem that art above, the mother of us all, the purchase of Christ’s passion, Isaiah 53:1-12 to whom thou hast been a bloody spouse, Acts 20:28 an Aceldama or field of blood, 1 Peter 1:18-19 he hath paid dear for thy fruitfulness. As the blood of beasts applied to the roots of trees maketh them sprout and bear more fruit, so doth the blood of Christ, sprinkled on the roots of men’s hearts, make them more fruitful Christians, as it did the Gentiles whose hearts were purified by faith. Acts 15:9 Galatians 4:27 The grain of wheat that fell into the ground and died there, abode not alone, but brought forth much fruit. John 12:24

For more are the children of the desolate. — The Christian Church, made up of Jews and Gentiles, shall have a more numerous and glorious offspring than ever the synagogue had. Sarah shall have more issue than Hagar, Hannah than Peninnah.

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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;

Enlarye the place of thy tent. — Thus he speaketh after the custom of those countries wherein was frequent use of tents; neither is it without a mystery, since we are all strangers in this world, neither have we here any continuing city. Justin Martyr saith Epist. ad Diog. of the Christians of his time, that every strange land was to them a country, and every country a strange land. They looked upon themselves as citizens of the new Jerusalem.

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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.

For thou shalt break forth, — i.e., Bring forth abundantly, and beyond belief. Margaret Countess of Henneberg, brought forth at a birth in Holland three hundred and sixty-five children, one skull whereof I have seen, saith mine author, no bigger than a bead or bean. Fuller’s Hist. of Cambridge, p. 28. The Church brought forth three thousand at one birth, Acts 2:41 and some whole nations at another. Isaiah 66:8 Romans 10:18

And thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles. — Shall spiritually become lords of the world, peopling it with a new and holy generation of such as "seek God’s face, this is Jacob." Psalms 24:6 This text the Jews and millenaries carnally construe.

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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.

Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed. — As widows and barren women wont to be. Thou hast been "without God and without Christ in the world"; but henceforth thou shalt be "married to him who is raised from the dead, that thou mayest bring forth fruit unto God." Romans 7:4 Ipse enim quod vult iubet, et dat quod iubet. Augustine. When you would and should be certain and quiet in conscience, saith Mr Bradford, martyr, in a sweet letter of his to a woman troubled in mind, then should your faith burst through all things until it come to Christ crucified, and the eternal sweet mercies and goodness of God in Christ. Here, here is the bridal bed, here is your spouse’s resting place; creep into it, and in your arms of faith embrace him. Bewail your weakness, your unworthiness, your diffidence, …, and you shall see he will turn to you. What said I, you shall see? Nay, I should have said, you shall feel he will turn to you. Acts and Mon., 1490.

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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 thy Maker is thine husband. — Mariti tui factores tui. Heb., Thy Makers. Job 35:10 See Trapp on " Job 35:10 " De sancta Trinitate dictum, saith Junius. Isaac hath the name of the most loving husband we read of in holy writ; but his love to Rebecca was not comparable to this of Christ to his Church, Ephesians 5:25-26 where I doubt not but the apostle Paul had respect to this passage in Isaiah.

The Lord of hosts is his name. — Therefore thou, his wife, art sure of protection and provision, of all things necessary "to life and godliness"; for he "hateth putting away," Malachi 2:16 and will bear with more than any husband else would. Jeremiah 3:1; John 13:1 Surely "as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him" Psalms 103:11

The God of the whole earth. — Of the Church universal.

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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 the Lord hath called thee. — Or, Recalled thee.

As a woman forsaken, grieved in spirit. — Because forsaken. This the Lord, out of his conjugal affection, cannot endure.

And a wife of youth. — Which can least of all bear such a rejection, as being in her prime, and likely to be a long time desolate and disconsolate. If the Church in this condition can but say, as that Duchess Dowager of Milan once did, Sola facta solum Deum sequor, he will say, as in Jeremiah 2:2 , "I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals."

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For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.

For a small moment have I forsaken thee. — I have made thee believe so, at least, by suffering thee to "fall into manifold temptations," James 1:2 but for thy greatest good: Hebrews 12:11 as (1.) For probation; (2.) For prevention; (3.) For purgation; (4.) For preparation to mercy. And although it should last as long as life, yet that were but for a moment. For what is life but a spot of time between two eternities? And God therefore taketh liberty to do it, because he hath such an eternity of time to reveal his kindness in; time enough for kisses and embraces. But usually God taketh off the smarting plaster as soon as it hath eaten away the proud flesh.

But with great mercies. — Heb., With great tender mercies, such as the mother beareth towards the babe of her own body. 1 Kings 3:16 God’s mercies are more than maternal.

Will I gather thee. — Or, Take thee up. Psalms 27:10 See Trapp on " Psalms 27:10 "

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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.

In a little wrath. — God can let forth his wrath in minnums, in little bubbles, as the word here rendered "wrath" properly signifieth. This wrath to the saints is but love displeased, and soon pacified again.

I hid my face from thee. — God sometimes concealeth his love out of increasement of love; he departeth from us, but then turneth again and looketh through the chinkers, as that martyr phraseth it, to see how we take it. Fathers leave their children, saith one, the other side the stile, and help them over when they cry; they seem to leave them sometimes in a throng, and then reach them the hand again upon their complaint. So is it here. To say God hath cast me off because he hath hid his face, is a fallacy fetched out of the devil’s topics. When the sun is eclipsed, foolish people may think it will never recover light; but wise men know it will. As, during the eclipse, though the earth wanteth the light of the sun for a time, yet not the influence thereof; for the metals that are engendered in the heart of the earth are concocted by the sun at the same time; so doth God’s favour visit men’s hearts in the power, heat, and vigorous influence of his grace, when the light and comfort of it is intercluded. Dr Goodwin.

But with everlasting kindness. — See a like elegant antithesis, with a double hyperbole to boot in 2 Corinthians 4:17 .

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