| Barnes' Notes on the Bible And they shall call them - It shall be the honorable and just name by which they shall be known, that they are a holy people, and that they are the redeemed of Yahweh. No name is so honorable as that; no one conveys so much that is elevated and ennobling as to say of one, 'he is one whom Yahweh has redeemed from sin and death and hell by atoning blood.' He who has a just sense of the import of this name, will desire no Other record to be made of his life - no other inscription on his tomb - than that he is one who has been redeemed by Yahweh. And thou shalt be called - (See the notes at Isaiah 62:2). Sought out - The city much sought after, or much desired - to wit, by converts who shall come from afar; by foreigners who shall come to do thee honor (see Isaiah 2:3; Isaiah 40:5-6, Isaiah 40:10-11; Isaiah 49:18-22). Or it may mean that Jerusalem would be a city sought out and desired by Yahweh; that is, no more forsaken by him. So Gesenius understands it. A city not forsaken - No longer given up to the invasions of a foreign enemy, and abandoned to long desolation. The idea is, that the church and people of God would be the object of his kind protecting care henceforward, and would enjoy his continued smiles.
Clarke's Commentary on the BibleThey shall call them - These characteristics seem to be put in their inverted order. - 1. God will not forsake them. 2. They shall be sought out. 3. They shall be redeemed. And, 4. Be in consequence a holy people. 1. When God calls, it is a proof that he has not forsaken. 2. When he seeks, it is a proof he is waiting to be gracious. 3. When the atonement is exhibited, all things are then ready. 4. And when that is received, holiness of heart and life is then to be kept continually in view, as this is the genuine work of God's Spirit; and without holiness none shall see the Lord.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd they shall call them the holy people,.... For whom the way is prepared, to whom the standard is lifted up, and the proclamation made, and who upon it are gathered in to Christ the Saviour, and to the church: these shall be called, by men that know them, have a spirit of discerning, and are capable of judging, "the holy people"; a people separated and set apart for God, for his service and glory; chosen to be a special people, above all the people of the earth; chosen through sanctification of the Spirit, and to holiness here and hereafter, and so sanctified by God the Father, as in Jde 1:1, and in consequence of it are made holy by the Spirit of God, in the effectual calling; they are not holy by nature, nor by their own power, but by the grace of God, who calls them with a holy calling, and to holiness, and implants principles of grace and holiness in them, so that they are truly and really so. This character respects the church and its members in the latter day, when everyone that remains in Jerusalem, and every pot and vessel there, shall be holiness to the Lord; yea, that shall be upon the bells of the horses, Isaiah 4:3, the redeemed of the Lord; which character includes the blessing of redemption, from whence the denomination is, which is a blessing of a spiritual nature; the redemption of the soul from sin, Satan, the law, its curse, and condemnation, and from all enemies; a blessing early in the heart of God; contrived by his infinite wisdom; secured in the covenant of grace; wrought out by Christ; is a plenteous one, containing various blessings of grace in it, and, in its effects and consequences, of an eternal duration: this character is also expressive of Christ, as the author of the above blessing: these are not redeemed by themselves, nor by their friends, nor by men, nor by angels, but by the Lord; who, as man, is the near kinsman of his people, and has the right to redeem; as God, he is mighty and able to redeem them; and who by his precious blood has obtained redemption for them; so that he has a property in them, which is asserted in this character; they are not their own, nor any other's but his, a peculiar people, redeemed from among men, the special favourites of heaven; and who, in consequence of it, are called, and kept, and saved with an everlasting salvation: and thou shalt be called, Sought out; thou, daughter of Zion; or the church of God, consisting of elect, redeemed, and called ones; such as are sought out of the ruins of the fall, among the men of the world, and dust of the earth; found in a very miserable condition, usually by means of the Gospel, and by Christ, who knows them well, where are, and what the time of finding them, and can by name, and does; all which is the fruit and effect of his love unto them; though this character may chiefly respect the notice that will be taken of the church in the latter day; whereas she has been Zion, whom no man seeks after, Jeremiah 30:17, now she shall be sought and flocked unto by all nations, and by great personages, even by the kings and princes of the earth, Isaiah 2:2. A city not forsaken; the city of the living God, of which saints are fellow citizens, consisting of many persons, in good and flourishing circumstances, and which shall not be forsaken of men, as it has been, Isaiah 60:15, but shall be filled with converts, both Jews and Gentiles; nor forsaken of God, but shall enjoy his gracious presence, and sensible communion with him in his ordinances; nor shall any of its true members be forsaken, or the work of grace in them; they shall none of them perish, but have everlasting life; so that here is a cluster of glorious doctrines, in their order and connection one with another: election in the first character; redemption in the second; effectual calling in the third; and final perseverance in the last.
Geneva Study BibleAnd they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A {o} city not forsaken. (o) That is, one over whom God has had a singular care to recover her when she was lost.
Scofield Reference NotesMargin redeemed Heb. "goel," Redemp. (Kinsman type). See Scofield Note: "Isa 59:20"
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary12. Sought out-Sought after and highly prized by Jehovah; answering to "not forsaken" in the parallel clause; no longer abandoned, but loved; image from a wife (Isa 62:4; Jer 30:14).
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary62:10-12 Way shall be made for Christ's salvation; all difficulties shall be removed. He brings a reward of comfort and peace with him; but a work of humiliation and reformation before him; and they shall be called, The holy people, and, The redeemed of the Lord. Holiness puts honour and beauty upon any place or person, makes them admired, beloved, and sought after. Many events may have been part fulfilments of this, as earnests of more glorious times yet to come. The close connexion between the blessedness of the Jews and of the Gentiles, runs through the Scriptures. The Lord Jesus will complete his work, and he never will forsake one whom he has redeemed and sanctified.
Matthew Henry's Whole Bible CommentaryVerses 10-12 This, as many like passages before, refers to the deliverance of the Jews out of Babylon, and, under the type and figure of that, to the great redemption wrought out by Jesus Christ, and the proclaiming of gospel grace and liberty through him. 1. Way shall be made for this salvation; all difficulties shall be removed, and whatever might obstruct it shall be taken out of the way, v. 10. The gates of Babylon shall be thrown open, that they may with freedom go through them; the way from Babylon to the land of Israel shall be prepared; causeways shall be made and cast up through wet and miry places, and the stones gathered out from places rough and rocky; in the convenient places appointed for their rendezvous standards shall be set up for their direction and encouragement, that they may embody for their greater safety. Thus John Baptist was sent to prepare the way of the Lord, Mt. 3:3. And, before Christ by his graces and comforts comes to any for salvation, preparation is made for him by repentance, which is called the preparation of the gospel of peace, Eph. 6:15. Here the way is levelled by it, there the feet are shod with it, which comes all to one, for both are in order to a journey. 2. Notice shall be given of this salvation, v. 11, 12. It shall be proclaimed to the captives that they are set at liberty and may go if they please; it shall be proclaimed to their neighbours, to all about them, to the end of the world, that God has pleaded Zion's just, injured, and despised cause. Let is be said to Zion, for her comfort, Behold, thy salvation comes (that is, thy Saviour, who brings salvation); he will bring such a work, such a reward, in this salvation, as shall be admired by all, a reward of comfort and peace with him; but a work of humiliation and reformation before him, to prepare his people for that recompence of their sufferings; and then, with reference to each, it follows, they shall be called, The holy people, and the redeemed of the Lord. The work before him, which shall be wrought in them and upon them, shall denominate them a holy people, cured of their inclination to idolatry and consecrated to God only; and the reward with him, the deliverance wrought for them, shall denominate them the redeemed of the Lord, so redeemed as none but God could redeem them, and redeemed to be his, their bonds loosed, that they might be his servants. Jerusalem shall then be called, Sought out, a city not forsaken. She had been forsaken for many years; there were neither traders nor worshippers that enquired the way to Jerusalem as formerly, when it was frequented by both. But now God will again make her considerable. She shall be sought out, visited, resorted to, and court made to her, as much as ever. When Jerusalem is called a holy city, then it is called sought out; for holiness puts an honour and beauty upon any place or person, which draws respect, and makes them to be admired, beloved, and enquired after. But this being proclaimed to the end of the world must have a reference to the gospel of Christ, which was to be preached to every creature; and it intimates, (1.) The glory of Christ. It is published immediately to the church, but is thence echoed to every nation: Behold, thy salvation cometh. Christ is not only the Saviour, but the salvation itself; for the happiness of believers is not only from him, but in him, ch. 12:2. His salvation consists both in the work and in the reward which he brings with him; for those that are his shall neither be idle nor lose their labour. (2.) The beauty of the church. Christians shall be called saints (1 Co. 1:2), the holy people, for they are chosen and called to salvation through sanctification. They shall be called the redeemed of the Lord; to him they owe their liberty, and therefore to him they owe their service, and they shall not be ashamed to own both. None are to be called the redeemed of the Lord but those that are the holy people; the people of God's purchase are a holy nation. And they shall be called, Sought out. God shall seek them out, and find them, wherever they are dispersed, eclipsed, or lost in a crowd; men shall seek them out, that they may join themselves to them, and not forsake them. It is good to associate with the holy people, that we may learn their ways, and with the redeemed of the Lord, that we may share in the blessings of the redemption. |
