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and on mine arm shall they trust; I will reward my faithful 6 subjects, and punish my enemies. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.

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Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart [is] my law, who love it and obey it; fear ye not the reproach of men, of wretched men, neither be ye afraid of their 8 revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool, or, a woollen garment: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from gene! ration to generation.

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Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. [Art] thou not it that hath cut Rahab, that is, Egypt, [and] wounded the drag10 on, that is, destroyed Pharaoh? [Art] thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? 11 (Exod. xiv. 21.) Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy [shall be] upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; [and] sorrow and mourning shall flee away; the captives shall return to Canaan, and a church of God be gathered out of Jews and Gentiles.

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I, [even] I, [am] he that comforteth you: who [art] thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of a man [that] shall die, and of 13 the son of man [which] shall be made [as] grass; and forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where [is] the fury of the oppres14 sor? it is ineffectual, vanished, and gone at once. The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail; he shall quickly be loosed and not die; neither shall his bread fail; and the reason 15 follows; But I [am] the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, 16 whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts [is] his name. And

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I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou [art] my people; that I may disperse the clouds which hinder the light of the sun, moon, and stars, or even produce new constellations, or a new world. Grand and beautiful figures, to express a wonderful scene opening, and great prosperity to be restored!

Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs, the most bitter and nauseous part, of the cup of trem18 bling, [and] wrung [them] out. [There is] none to guide her

among all the sons [whom] she hath brought forth neither [is there any] that taketh her by the hand of all the sons [that] she hath brought up ; no human power can restore her prosperity. 19 These two [things] are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword; that is, desolation by famine, and destruction by the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee? who shall lament for thee in such 20 pathetic strains as thy case requires? Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in a net : they are full of the fury of the LORD, the rebuke of thy God; they are languishing, and yet are quite furious and desperate; as was 21 the case when the city was taken and destroyed. Therefore hear 22 now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine: Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God [that] pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, [even] the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt 23 no more drink it again; thou shalt drink of it no longer: But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over; it shall be given to the Chaldeans, who tyrannized over thee, oppressed thy conscience, and to whose insults thou hast too tamely submitted.

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REFLECTIONS.

WE are taught how useful it is to look back, and contem

plate our original, v. 1. We are born of the dust, (what an humble origin!) are in a feeble, helpless state, descended from degenerate parents, and have many corruptions and sinful propensities. Let us often think of this, that we may be humble, adore the divine goodness in our formation and preservation, and especially his love to such mean and sinful creatures in their redemption; that we may draw encouragement from hence to trust in him to fulfil all his promises, whatever difficulties may be in the way.

2. We see the character and happiness of God's people, v. 7, 8. They know righteousness, have their minds enlightened, understand what is good, and what the will of the Lord is; they have his law in their hearts; take pains to study and remember it, to feel its power, and obey its commands. They may be reproached and reviled, even for their piety and steadfastness; but these reproaches are not to be regarded. God will defend his cause, and those who adhere to it; it shall prosper, and they shall be happy; while scoffers and revilers shall waste away, and be covered with everlasting shame and reproach.

3. We should learn, from former experiences of God's power and goodness, to trust in him for futurity, as they are a great encouragement to our faith. God often reminds his people of this; and particularly in this chapter. It shows the advantage of scripture histories, and the importance of recording past appearances of

Providence for us. It would encourage our prayers in seasons of danger, and tend to silence that fear of man which bringeth a snare, which is often groundless, and always unbecoming. Our remembering the power, faithfulness, and goodness of God, would prevent any inordinate fear of what frail, dying man can do unto us. Let us then think less highly of man, and more highly of God, if we desire to be easy and happy,

4. We see that God easily can, and at length certainly will, change the afflicted condition of his people. He is the Lord, and their covenant God; who will plead their cause, vindicate their character, confound their enemies, and show that his cause was a righteous one. He may put a cup of affliction into their hands, and it becomes them to drink it with all submission; sensible, that though it is not pleasant, it is wholesome, and will be exchanged for a cup of blessings. But those who are enemies to God's ways and people, shall drink the very dregs, and have no alleviation of their misery.

CHAP. LII.

This chapter refers to the happy change made in the state of the Jews by their return from their captivity, as illustrating the more important deliverance by the gospel.

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WAKE, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; resume thy former strength and dignity: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean; 2 there shall be no more idolatry within thee. Shake thyself from

the dust, where thou hast sat as a mourner; arise, [and] sit down on thy throne, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion; take all prudent methods to 3 recover thy liberty, and gain the favour of thy conquerors. For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; you have parted with your liberty only to enjoy your sins, and have got nothing by it; and ye shall be redeemed without money; Cyrus 4 shall deliver you freely. For thus saith the Lord God, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause, and I delivered them 5 from both. Now therefore what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? what claim have the Chaldeans to keep my people in bondage, whom they have taken away without cause? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually every day [is] blasphemed; they are cruelly used, and God is blasphemed, as if 6 he had cast them off, or was unable to help them. Therefore my people shall know my name, my power, therefore [they shall

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know] in that day that I [am] he that doth speak : behold, [it is] I, who am come to fulfil my promise.

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; meaning the messengers that come from Babylon to bring the news of deliver ance; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! his providence and care of his church now appear in performing his promises. 8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing the watchmen, seeing the messengers coming at a distance, shall begin a song of joy and praise: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion; they shall see face to face, that is, clearly and evidently see his favour returning, and their glory dawning.

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Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath re10 deemed Jerusalem. The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God; his power and holiness in their deliverance from Babylon, shall be an emblem of, and serve to intro11 duce the great salvation by Jesus Christ. Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean [thing ;] go ye out of the midst of her; go out of Babylon, cleanse yourselves from idolatrous defilements and ceremonial pollutions; bring no idolatrous practices out of Babylon, as ye did out of Egypt; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD; ye priests, that bear the holy vessels which Cyrus restored. Ye shall have time to cleanse your12 selves, For ye shall not go out with haste, as ye did out of Egypt, in a diffident, distrustful manner, nor go by flight for the LORD will go before you and the God of Israel [will be] your rereward; he will defend you from enemies before and behind.*

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Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall conduct himself in his office with integrity and wisdom, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high; men and angels shall admire him, 14 and God shall exalt him. As many were astonished at thee ;t his visage was so marred, more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men ; they were astonished to see such an alteration made in his countenance by his sorrows and sufferings, and such a change in his circumstances between the multitude fol15 lowing him in triumph, and his being crucified. So shall he sprinkle many nations, by his blood, his word, and spirit, and the ordinance of baptism; the kings shall shut their mouths at him; shall attend to his doctrine in an humble, reverent manner: for [that] which had not been told them shall they see; and [that] which they had not heard shall they consider; that is, his heav enly doctrine, such as human reason could not discover. This is applied in Rom. xv. 21. to the gospel.

Here another section begins, which contains a glorions prophecy of Christ, to the end of the next chapter; this division spoils the beauty and sense of the prophecy.

† Or, at him, as the Syrian, Chaldee, and Vulgate versions render it.

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REFLECTIONS.

E see how the glad tidings of salvation should be receiv ed. The gospel brings us news of a greater deliverance than that of the Jews from Babylon; a deliverance from the captivity of sin and Satan; a message of peace with God, and the prospect of eternal life. We now see heavenly truths clearly, and enjoy the favour of God. How thankfully then should these glad tidings be received, and how welcome should christian ministers be who publish them! Rom. x. 15. How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! They should be esteemed highly in love for their work's sake; and we should earnestly pray that they may be spread over the whole world, that all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of the Lord.

2. We see what is necessary to our being partakers of this salvation. We must rouse and exert ourselves, put on our strength, endeavour to break the chains of sin, and regain our liberty. The same exhortation is addressed to us that was to Israel, 2 Cor. vi. 17. Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord: touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you : have no communion with the unfruitful works of darkness. Let all God's people, especially his ministers, be holy; then shall we enjoy the divine protection, be cleansed from all our iniquities, and at length see the everlasting salvation of our God.

CHAP. LIII.

This is a remarkable prophecy of Christ, the most illustrious in all the Old Testament; it describes his sufferings as exactly as if it was a history of them.

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HO hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? The prophet speaking in the name of Christ and his apostles, laments that so few among the Jews believed the report of the gospel, or were influenced by those miracles which were wrought by the arm or power of God; and 2 suggests one reason, viz. Chrisi's mean appearance. For he shall grow up before him, under the eye and care of God, and in the sight of all the people, as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground; as a sucker or tender branch, in a thirsty soil, that is, from the house of David, which was now sunk into obscurity: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, [there is] no beauty that we should desire him; he hath no extraordinary comeliness, no external pomp, nothing to suit the car3 nal expectations of the Jews; therefore He is despised and. rejected of men ; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; he shall have a variety of sorrows, and the griefs of his intimate

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