Bible Commentaries

Isaiah 35:1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.

Ver. 1. The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them.] The Edomites, and other enemies, have had their part. It hath been sufficiently said, "Woe unto the wicked, it shall be ill with him; for the reward of his hands shall be given him." And now the prophet is bidden to say to the righteous, to tell him so from the Lord, that it "shall be well with him; for the reward of his hands shall be given him." [Isaiah 3:10-11] The "wilderness" and the "desert," that is, the poor people of God that have been oppressed and slighted in this world, shall be restored into a happy and flourishing estate. The Church shall have her halcyon days under Hezekiah, but especially under Christ, she shall have it both in temporals and spirituals. [Isaiah 35:2]

Isaiah 35:2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, [and] the excellency of our God.

Ver. 2. The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel, &c.] Outward blessings shall be heaped upon God’s people; even all that heart can wish, or need require.

They shall see the glory of the Lord.] Spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ Jesus shall be conferred upon them also, even every good gift and perfect giving from the Father of lights,

“ Qui icturatos intexit floribus hortos,

Quique iubet rutilis albescere lilia campis. ”

Isaiah 35:3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

Ver. 3. Strengthen ye the weak hands,] q.d., Cheer up, my hearts; be of good courage, and God shall strengthen your hearts, all ye that hope in the Lord. Comfort ye also one another with these words, and build up each other in your most holy faith; and I will show you how, and in what terms, you shall do it.

Isaiah 35:4 Say to them [that are] of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come [with] vengeance, [even] God [with] a recompence; he will come and save you.

Ver. 4. Say to them that are of a fearful heart,] Inconsideratis; to them that consider not the promises, but "forget the consolations," {παρακλησις, Hebrews 12:5} so poring upon their sins, that they see not their Saviour.

Behold, your God will come with vengeance.] He will tread Satan under your feet shortly. [Romans 16:20]

Even your God with a recompense.] Diabolo par pari retribuet Christus, saith Jerome: Christ will be even with the devil. He had got one of Christ’s disciples - Judas; and, to cry quittance, Christ got one of his - Paul. Cyprian was wont thus to comfort his hearers, Veniet Antichristus, sed superveniet Christus, Antichrist will come, but Christ will not be long behind him.

Isaiah 35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

Ver. 5. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened.] This was fulfilled corporally in cures wrought by Christ, [Matthew 9:27; Matthew 11:5] and spiritually in the preaching of the gospel by the efficacy of his Spirit. [Acts 26:18; Acts 16:14] Apollonius Tyanaeus could never do such miracles, nor any other. This showeth that Jesus of Nazareth was the true Messiah.

Isaiah 35:6 Then shall the lame [man] leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

Ver. 6. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart.] As that impotent man did, [Acts 3:8] and those Loripedes [Hebrews 12:13]

And the tongue of the dumb sing.] As good old Zacharias did, [Luke 1:64] not so much for his speech restored, or his son received, as for his Saviour now at hand; and as did those that sang, "He hath done all things well; he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak," [Mark 7:37] yea, to utter the great things of God, and to speak good of his name. Lo here, saith Luther, miracles to confirm the gospel to be of God, against those that deride his ministers, saying, They cannot make so much as a lame horse sound: for all they in whose hearts it taketh effect, of blind are made to see, of deaf to hear, of lame to go, and of dumb to speak.

For in the wilderness shall waters break out.] This, and that which followeth in the next verse, Junius maketh to be the matter of their song - viz., the grace of God abundantly communicated to his Church. See John 7:38-39. The Jews dream that when their Messiah cometh, the Red Sea shall again be divided and the rock cloven, much water gushing out, &c. Thus they work themselves into the fool’s paradise of a sublime dotage, by misunderstanding this text.

Isaiah 35:7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, [shall be] grass with reeds and rushes.

Ver. 7. And the parched ground, &c.] See on Isaiah 35:6.

Isaiah 35:8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it [shall be] for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err [therein].

Ver. 8. And an highway shall be there,] i.e., In the Church of Christ.

And a way.] εν δια δυοιν, The king’s highway to heaven, arcta et ampla; latet et lucet.

The way of holiness.] Or, The way of the sanctuary.

But it shall be for those.] Those beneficiaries of Christ mentioned in Isaiah 35:5-6; the ransomed of the Lord. [Isaiah 35:10]

The wayfaring men, though fools.] Simple Christians.

Shall not err.] Miss their way, or miscarry in it.

Isaiah 35:9 No lion shall be there, nor [any] ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk [there]:

Ver. 9. No lion shall be there.] The devil, that roaring lion, nor his actuaries, tyrants and heretics, shall haunt these holy highways. God will preserve his people from all devoratory evils, as Tertullian calleth them, [2 Thessalonians 3:3] "that wicked one, the devil, shall not once touch them," [1 John 5:18] so as to thrust his deadly sting into them.

Isaiah 35:10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Ver. 10. And the ransomed of the Lord.] Those happy ones. [Deuteronomy 33:29]

Shall return.] To the Lord, from whom they had deeply revolted.

With songs.] As they were wont to do in their sacred solemnities.

And everlasting joy upon their heads.] As an unfadeable crown; [1 Peter 1:5; 1 Peter 5:4] they shall pass from the jaws of death to the joys of heaven. ^(a)

Joy and gladness,] i.e., Outward and inward, say some.

And sorrow and sighing.] Their joys shall be sincere and constant.