And they that shall be of thee shall build the old
waste
places
As the cities in Israel and Judea, which had been long laid waste
by the Assyrians and Chaldeans, were rebuilt by those of the
Jewish nation, who returned from the captivity of Babylon, to
which there is at least an allusion; and as the church of God,
the tabernacle of David, which was fallen down, and had lain long
in ruins, through corruptions in doctrine and worship, to the
times of Christ, when the apostles, who were of the Jews, those
wise masterbuilders, were instruments of raising it up again, and
repairing its ruins: so, in the latter day, "the waste places of
the world" F14, as the words may be rendered,
shall be built by a set of men, that shall be of the church of
God, who shall be instruments in his hand of converting many
souls, and so of peopling it with Christians; such places as
before were desolate, where before there was no preaching of the
word, no administration of ordinances, nor any Gospel churches:
thou shalt raise up the foundations of many
generations;
either such foundations as have been razed up, and lay so for
ages past; or raise up such as shall continue for generations to
come. It may allude to the raising the foundations of the city
and temple of Jerusalem; but rather refers to the founding of
churches in Gospel times, which, as it was done in the first
times of it by the apostles in the Gentile world, so shall be
again in the latter day, which will continue for many ages:
and thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach, and
the restorer
of paths to dwell in;
that is, the church and her builders, that shall be of her, shall
be so called; the Jews and Gentiles will be converted in great
numbers, and coalesce in the same Gospel church state, and so the
breach between them will be repaired. Christians of various
denominations, who now break off and separate one from another,
will be of the same sentiment and judgment in doctrine and
discipline; they shall see eye to eye, and cement together, and
all breaches will be made up, and there will be no schism in the
body; and they shall dwell together in unity, and walk in the
same paths of faith and duty, of truth and holiness; and such who
will be the happy instruments of all this will have much honour,
and be called by these names. The Targum is,
``they shall call thee one that confirms the right way, and converts, the ungodly to the law.''