Isaiah 61

1 The spirit of the Lord is [up]on me, for the Lord anointed me; he sent me to tell [out] to mild men, that I should heal men contrite in heart, and preach forgiveness to captives, and opening to prisoners; (The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for the Lord hath anointed me; he sent me to tell to the humble, or to the meek, that I will heal people contrite in heart, and preach forgiveness to captives, and freedom to prisoners;)

2 and preach a pleasant year to the Lord, and a day of vengeance to our God; that I should comfort all that mourn; (and proclaim a year of the Lord's favour, and a day of the vengeance of our God; and that I will comfort all who mourn;)

3 that I should set comfort to the mourners of Zion, and that I should give to them a crown for ashes, oil of joy for mourning, (and) a mantle of praising for the spirit of wailing. And strong men of rightfulness shall be called therein, the planting of the Lord, for to glorify (him). (yea, that I will give comfort to all who mourn in Zion, and that I will give them a crown for ashes, oil of joy for mourning, and a cloak of praise for the spirit of wailing. And people strong in righteousness there, shall be called The planting of the Lord, to glorify him/for his glory.)

4 And they shall build (again) things that be forsaken from the world, and they shall raise (up) eld fallings, and they shall restore cities that be forsaken and destroyed, in generation and into generation.

5 And aliens shall stand, and feed your beasts; and the sons of pilgrims shall be your earth-tillers and vine-tillers. (And foreigners shall serve thee, and shall feed your beasts; and the sons of foreigners shall be your farmers and your vine-growers.)

6 But ye shall be called the priests of the Lord; it shall be said to you, Ye be ministers of our God. Ye shall eat the strength of heathen men, and ye shall be honoured in the glory of them. (But ye shall be called the priests of the Lord; it shall be said of you, Ye be the ministers, or the servants, of our God. Ye shall eat the wealth of the heathen, and ye shall glory in that.)

7 For your double shame and shame, they shall praise the part of them; for this thing they shall have peaceably double things in their land, and everlasting gladness shall be to them. (For your double shame, ye shall now have good things in double, and ye shall praise your portion; yea, because of this, ye shall have good things in double in your own land, and everlasting happiness shall be to you.)

8 For I am the Lord, loving doom, and hating raven in burnt sacrifices. And I shall give the work of them in truth, and I shall smite to them an everlasting bond of peace. (For I am the Lord, loving justice, or judgement, and hating stolen things used for burnt sacrifices. And I shall direct their work in truth/And I shall grant them a true reward, and I shall strike an everlasting covenant with them.)

9 And the seed of them shall be known among folks, and the burgeoning of them in the midst of peoples. All men that see them, shall know them, for these be the seed, whom the Lord blessed. (And their children, or their descendants, shall be known among the nations, and their burgeoning in the midst of the peoples. All who see them, shall know them, for these be the children, or the people, whom the Lord hath blessed.)

10 I joying shall have joy in the Lord, and my soul shall make full out joying in my God. For he hath clothed me with [the] clothes of health, and he hath compassed me with [the] clothes of rightfulness, as a spouse made fair with a crown, and as a spousess adorned with her brooches. (I rejoicing shall have joy in the Lord, and my soul shall rejoice in my God. For he hath clothed me with the clothes of salvation, or of deliverance, and he hath clothed me with the clothes of righteousness, like a spouse made handsome with a crown, and like a spousess adorned with her brooches, or her with jewels.)

11 For as the earth bringeth forth his fruit, and as a garden burgeoneth his seed, so the Lord God shall make to grow rightfulness and praising before all folks. (For like the land bringeth forth its fruit, and like a garden burgeoneth, or sprouteth, its seed, so the Lord God shall make righteousness and praising grow before all the nations.)

Isaiah 61 Commentary

Chapter 61

The Messiah, his character and office. (1-3) His promises of the future blessedness of the church. (4-9) The church praises God for these mercies. (10,11)

Verses 1-3 The prophets had the Holy Spirit of God at times, teaching them what to say, and causing them to say it; but Christ had the Spirit always, without measure, to qualify him, as man, for the work to which he was appointed. The poor are commonly best disposed to receive the gospel, ( James 2:5 ) ; and it is only likely to profit us when received with meekness. To such as are poor in spirit, Christ preached good tidings when he said, Blessed are the meek. Christ's satisfaction is accepted. By the dominion of sin in us, we are bound under the power of Satan; but the Son is ready, by his Spirit, to make us free; and then we shall be free indeed. Sin and Satan were to be destroyed; and Christ triumphed over them on his cross. But the children of men, who stand out against these offers, shall be dealt with as enemies. Christ was to be a Comforter, and so he is; he is sent to comfort all who mourn, and who seek to him, and not to the world, for comfort. He will do all this for his people, that they may abound in the fruits of righteousness, as the branches of God's planting. Neither the mercy of God, the atonement of Christ, nor the gospel of grace, profit the self-sufficient and proud. They must be humbled, and led to know their own character and wants, by the Holy Spirit, that they may see and feel their need of the sinner's Friend and Saviour. His doctrine contains glad tidings indeed to those who are humbled before God.

Verses 4-9 Promises are here made to the Jews returned out of captivity, which extend to all those who, through grace, are delivered out of spiritual thraldom. An unholy soul is like a city that is broken down, and has no walls, like a house in ruins; but by the power of Christ's gospel and grace, it is fitted to be a habitation of God, through the Spirit. When, by the grace of God, we attain to holy indifference as to the affairs of this world; when, though our hands are employed about them, our hearts are not entangled with them, but preserved entire for God and his service, then the sons of the alien are our ploughmen and vine-dressers. Those whom He sets at liberty, he sets to work. His service is perfect freedom; it is the greatest honour. All believers are made, to our God, kings and priests; and always ought to conduct themselves as such. Those who have the Lord for their portion, have reason to say, that they have worthy portion, and to rejoice in it. In the fulness of heaven's joys we shall receive more than double for all our services and sufferings. God desires truth, and therefore hates all injustice. Nor will it justify any man's robbery to say, it was for burnt-offerings; and that robbery is most hateful which is under this pretence. Let the children of godly parents be such, that all may see the fruits of a good education; an answer to the prayers for them, in the fruit of God's blessing.

Verses 10-11 Those only shall be clothed with the garments of salvation hereafter, that are covered with the robe of Christ's righteousness now, and by the sanctification of the Spirit have God's image renewed upon them. These blessings shall spring forth for ages to come, as the fruits of the earth. So duly, so constantly, and with such advantage to mankind, will the Lord God cause righteousness and praise to spring forth. They shall spread far; the great salvation shall be published and proclaimed, to the ends of the earth. Let us be earnest in prayer, that the Lord God may cause that righteousness to spring forth among us, which constitutes the excellence and glory of the Christian profession.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 61

In this chapter both Christ and the church are introduced speaking, in their turns. It begins with the words of Christ, describing his work and office; his qualifications for it; the several parts and branches of it; and the ends to be answered by it; Isa 61:1-3, the reparation of the church; the feeding it by strangers; its being a holy priesthood; its enjoying the riches of the Gentiles; its having honour and joy, instead of shame and confusion; its prosperity in the work of the Lord, and the continuance of its spiritual offspring among the Gentiles, are prophesied of in Isa 61:4-9, and then the church is represented as rejoicing in the Lord, on account of her being clothed with his righteousness, so ornamental to her, Isa 61:10 and the chapter is concluded with a promise of her righteousness and glory appearing before all the nations of the world; of which the following chapter is an illustrious prophecy, Isa 61:11.