Isaiah 49:14

But Zion said,.... By way of objection, as some think, to the above prophecies of glorious and comfortable times; she being now in a very disconsolate condition, and could not tell how to take it in,

But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.

This is an objection against all these glorious predictions and promises hitherto mentioned. How can these things be true, when the condition of God’ s church is now so sad and desperate? as it was when the Jews were captives in Babylon, in which the prophet here supposeth them to be.

Isaiah 49:14 But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.Ver. 14. But Zion said.] The Church hath her vicissitudes of joy and sorrow; mercies and crosses are interwoven; God checkereth his providences white and black; he speckleth his work. The Lord hath forsaken me.] No, never: Non deserit Deus, etiamsi deserere videatur; non deserit etiamsi deserat, God may withdraw, but not utterly desert his; he may change his dispensation, not his disposition toward them. My Lord hath forgotten me.] My Lord still, though little enjoyed at present. So Psalms 22:1. Plato could say that a man might believe, and yet not believe. "I believe," saith he in the gospel, "help mine unbelief" - that is, my weak and wavering faith. Augustine.

(14) But Zion said . . .—In the midst of all that Jehovah was doing for his people they were still showing their little faith, and thinking of themselves as forsaken. They shared the misgivings which were felt even by the Servant, but they did not rise out of them as quickly as He did into the full assurance of faith.

Verse 14. The Lord (יהוה Yehovah) hath forsaken me, and my Lord (אדני Adonai) hath forgotten me.] But a multitude of MSS. and several ancient editions read יהוה Yehovah in both places.

Ch. Isaiah 49:14 to Isaiah 50:3. The Consolation of Zion(i) Isaiah 49:14-21. In an apostrophe to Jerusalem the prophet announces the speedy return of her population and the rebuilding of her waste places. The poetry of the passage is singularly beautiful, and charged with tender emotion. Zion, the idealised city, is the wife of Jehovah, and the mother of her inhabitants. Although she now thinks of herself as rejected and barren (Isaiah 49:14), she is assured of the unchanging love of her God (Isaiah 49:15-16) which will soon be manifested in her restoration to the joy of motherhood (17–20). The ecstasy of amazement and delight with which she recognises and welcomes her children (Isaiah 49:21) is finely opposed to the opening picture of her desolation and despondency. Note also the contrast between the whole conception and the fate of the “virgin daughter of Babylon” (Isaiah 47:8-9). (ii) Ch. Isaiah 49:22 to Isaiah 50:3. Three oracles, confirming the promise to Zion. (1) Isaiah 49:22-23. On a signal from Jehovah the nations shall bring home the scattered children of Zion; nay, their kings and queens shall esteem it an honour to foster the newly-formed community. (2) Isaiah 49:24-26. No earthly power can interpose between Jehovah and the deliverance of His people; Israel is His lawful prey, and none shall pluck them from Him (see the notes below). In thus representing the deliverance as effected by force, the prophet no doubt has in view the one nation that would not obey the signal of Isa 49:22. (3) Isaiah 50:1-3. Lastly, there exists no legal impediment to the redemption of Israel; Jehovah has issued no sentence of formal rejection against His people, nor has anyone acquired the rights of a creditor over them (Isaiah 49:1). He therefore expresses surprise that there is so little response to the promise of salvation, so little faith in His almighty power.

But Zion said - On the word ‘Zion,’ see the note at Isaiah 1:8. The language here is that of complaint, and expresses the deep feeling of the people of God amidst many calamities, afflictions, and trials.

14-21. But Zion — Probably the literal Zion, after such a paean or shout of praise that the Gentile world is seen rushing from every quarter into the number of the true Israel, or spiritual Zion.