To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion
Or, "to the mourners of Zion" F21; such who are of Zion,
belong to the church of God, and mourn for the corruptions in
Zion's doctrines; for the perversion, abuse, and neglect of
Zion's ordinances; for the disorders and divisions in Zion; for
the declensions there, as to the exercise of grace, and the power
of godliness; for the few instances of conversions there, or few
additions to it; for the carelessness, ease, and lukewarmness of
many professors in Zion; and for their unbecoming lives and
conversations. Now one part of Christ's work is to "appoint"
comfort to such; he has appointed it in counsel and covenant from
eternity; made provision for it in the blessings and promises of
his grace; he has "set" F23 or put it in the ministry of the
word; be has ordered his ministering servants to speak
comfortably to his people; yea, by his Spirit he "puts" comfort
into the hearts of them, who through their unbelief refuse to be
comforted; and he has fixed a time when he will arise and have
mercy on Zion, and bring her into a better state than she is now
in, when there will be none of these causes of complaint and
mourning: to give unto them beauty for ashes;
in the Hebrew text there is a beautiful play on words, which
cannot be so well expressed in our language, "to give peer for
epher" F24; in times of mourning, it was usual
to put on sackcloth and ashes, ( Esther 4:1 Esther 4:3 ) ( Job 2:8 Job 2:10 ) ( John 3:5 John 3:6 ) , instead of
this, Christ gives his mourners the beautiful garments of
salvation, and the robe of his righteousness, and the graces of
his Spirit, and his gracious presence, together with his word and
ordinances, and sometimes a large number of converts; all which,
as they are ornamental to his people, they yield them joy, peace,
and comfort: and this is a beauty that is not natural to them,
but is of grace; not acquired, but given; not fictitious, but
real; is perfect and complete, lasting and durable, and desired
by Christ himself, who gives it: the oil of joy for
mourning;
oil used to be poured on the heads of persons at entertainments
and festivals, and at times of rejoicing; and so is opposed to
the state of mourners, who might not be anointed, as the Jewish
commentators observe; see ( Psalms 23:5 ) (
Ecclesiastes 9:7 ) (
Matthew
6:17 ) the grace of the Spirit without measure, with which
Christ was anointed, is called "the oil of gladness", ( Psalms 45:7 ) and of
the same nature, though not of the same measure, is the grace
which saints have from Christ; the effect of which is joy and
gladness, even joy unspeakable, and full of glory; which is had
in believing in Christ, and through a hope of eternal life by
him; hence we read of the joy of faith, and of the rejoicing of
hope: this oil is Christ's gift, and not to be bought with money;
this holy unction comes from him; this golden oil is conveyed
from him, through the golden pipes of the word and ordinances; is
very valuable, of great price, and to be desired; and, being had,
cannot be lost; it is the anointing that abides: the
garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
such as is in persons under afflictions, or under a sense of sin,
a load of guilt, and expectation of wrath; such as have heavy
hearts, contrite and contracted F25 ones, as the word is
observed to signify; for as joy enlarges the heart, sorrow
contracts it; instead of which, a garment of praise, or an
honourable one, is given; alluding to persons putting on of
raiment suitable to their characters and circumstances, at
seasons of rejoicing, such as weddings, and the like, ( Ecclesiastes
9:7 Ecclesiastes
9:8 ) ( Matthew
22:11 Matthew
22:12 ) by which may be meant here the robe of Christ's
righteousness later mentioned, ( Isaiah 61:10
) so called because worthy of praise, for the preferableness of
it to all others, being the best robe; for its perfection and
purity; for the fragrancy and acceptableness of it to God, and
for its eternal duration; also, because it occasions and excites
praise in such on whom it is put; and such likewise shall have
praise of God hereafter, when on account of it they shall be
received into his kingdom and glory: that they might be
called trees of righteousness;
that is, that the mourners in Zion, having all these things done
for them, and bestowed on them, might be called, or be, or appear
to be, like "trees" that are well planted; whose root is in
Christ, whose sap is the Spirit and his grace, and whose fruit
are good works; and that they might appear to be good trees, and
of a good growth and stature, and be laden with the fruits of
righteousness, and be truly righteous persons, made so by the
imputation of Christ's righteousness to them: "the planting of
the Lord"; planted by him in Christ, and in his church, and so
never to be rooted out: that he might be
glorified;
by their fruitfulness and good works, ( John 15:8 ) ( Matthew 5:16
) or that he might glorify himself, or get himself glory by them;
(See Gill on Isaiah
60:21).