Isaiah 49:10 - Exposition

They shall not hunger nor thirst (cf. John 4:14 ; John 6:35 ). God's grace is sufficient for his faithful ones. They are content with the sustenance which he awards them, and neither "hunger" nor "thirst." Neither shall the heat nor sun smite them ; rather, neither shall the glowing sand nor the sun smite them (see Isaiah 35:7 ). To those who walk at noonday over the "glowing sand" of the desert, the heat which "smites them" seems to come as much from below as from above, the white ground reflecting the sun's rays with a force almost equal to that wherewith the rays themselves beat down upon them from the sky. The Lord's faithful ones, in their passage through the wilderness of life, shall be free Item these fearful trials. "The sun shall not smite them by day, neither the moon by night" ( Psalms 121:6 ) He that hath mercy on them ; or, that hath compassion on them—that sympathizes with their sufferings, and pities them in their trials (comp. Isaiah 49:13 and Isaiah 49:15 ). Shall lead them (comp. Psalms 23:2 ; Isaiah 40:11 ). The Oriental shepherd for the most part goes before his flock.