He hath redeemed Jerusalem "He hath redeemed Israel" - For the word ירושלם yerushalaim , which occurs the second time in this verse, MS. Bodleian and another read ישראל yisrael . It is upon a rasure in a third; and left unpointed at first, as suspected, in a fourth. It was an easy mistake, by the transcriber casting his eye on the line above: and the propriety of the correction, both in regard to sense and elegance, is evident. read more
Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence - The Prophet Jeremiah seems to have had his eye on this passage of Isaiah, and to have applied it to a subject directly opposite. It is here addressed by the prophet in a way of encouragement and exhortation to the Jews coming out of Babylon. Jeremiah has given it a different turn, and has thrown it out, as a reproach of the heathen upon the Jews when they were driven from Jerusalem into captivity: - "Depart; ye are polluted, depart; depart ye,... read more
Awake, awake; put on thy strength (comp. Isaiah 51:9 ). God can help those only who help themselves. The "arm of the Lord" having been called upon to "put on strength" in order to help Zion, Zion is now exhorted to do her part, and put on her own strength. Nor is she to stop there; she is further to rut on her beautiful garments—to array herself in the glorious robes which befit her as a royal and a holy city, and show herself once more a queen, instead of being content to remain... read more
The strength of the Church. The Zion of Old Testament Scripture is the Christian Church of the New. We have here, therefore, a commanding summons to clothe ourselves, as Churches of Christ, with the strength which is especially our own: "Put on thy strength, O Zion." I. IS WHAT THE STRENGTH OF THE CHURCH CONSISTS . Not, as we are too apt to imagine, in wealth, in territory, in buildings, in material defences of any kind: all this is the strength of the world, but not of... read more
The beauty of the Church. We are more apt to thank God for the bounty than for the beauty of the earth; but if one is the more necessary, the other is the higher gift of the two; if the one satisfies the cravings of the body, the other ministers to the hunger and the thirst of the soul. With what lavish hand has God supplied it! What colour, what variety, what elegance, what symmetry, what loveliness, and what grandeur on the surface of the earth, in hill and mountain, in sea and sky! And if... read more
God helps those who help themselves. It is a law of God's providence to require of men, as conditional to his assisting them, some corresponding effort. " Ask , and it shall be given you; seek , and ye shall find; knock , and it shall be opened unto you" ( Matthew 7:7 ). He is always ready to give; but he will have men stretch out their hand to receive. For the careless and the apathetic, he will—perhaps we might say, he can—do nothing. Thus he calls men into his Church, but... read more
The restored castaway. "Arise, and sit down … O captive daughter of Zion." "The verses are a poetical description of the liberation of a female captive from degrading slavery, and it is designed to represent the complete emancipation of the Church from tyranny and persecution." The call is peculiar as judged by Western associations, but quite natural in view of Eastern habits. The female is pictured as crouching on the ground, huddled in the dust, in the depressed and miserable attitude of... read more
FURTHER ADDRESS OF THE PROPHET TO JERUSALEM . Zion is exhorted to rise from the dust, throw off her bonds, and assert her freedom ( Isaiah 52:1 , Isaiah 52:2 ). God will deliver her from this third captivity for his Name's sake, which her oppressors blaspheme ( Isaiah 52:3-6 ). read more
The redemption of Jerusalem. I. THE SUMMONS . It comes from the Divine representatives. She had been called upon to arise and to stand up, and now she is to put on her strength and her robes. "Strength returns to Zion when the arm of Jehovah is mighty within her." It is useless to counterfeit the semblance of strength which does not exist. Nor is strength merely a matter of the will; but there ever is a secret fund of strength in the hearts of those who know that God has not forsaken... read more
Get Bible verse every day in your inbox
Read on Mobile
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 52:8
Thy watchmen lift up the voice "All thy watchmen lift up their voice" - There is a difficulty in the construction of this place which, I think, none of the ancient versions or modern interpreters have cleared up satisfactorily. Rendered word for word it stands thus: "The voice of thy watchmen: they lift up their voice." The sense of the first member, considered as elliptical, is variously supplied by various expositors; by none, as it seems to me, in any way that is easy and natural. I am... read more