Isaiah 60

Isaiah 60:1

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.

Arise out of the dust and sorrow, O thou my afflicted Church, and be thou glorious; for the time is come, wherein God is purposed to comfort and to honour thee, before the eyes of the world.

Isaiah 60:2

For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

For, behold, the darkness, both of ignorance and calamity, shall be upon the rest of the earth; but, as it was with thee in Goshen, so it shall be now again, the Lord shall cause the light, both of knowledge and comfort, to arise upon thee.

Isaiah 60:5

Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged: because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.

Thou shalt assemble cheerfully together, and thy heart shall be full of astonishment and wonder and thankfulness; because the store of those foreign nations, which by divers seas are severed from thee, shall be converted unto thee, my Evangelical Church: all the forces and excellent graces of the Gentiles shall be added unto thee.

Isaiah 60:6

The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD.

The multitudes of several nations shall come, and send in unto thee, according to their sundry commodities and means of conveyance, all manner of rich and precious presents; whereby they ISAIAN, CHAP. LIX., LX. shall testify their homage, and joy in that God, which hath honoured them with the high calling of the children of his Church.

Isaiah 60:7

All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.

So cheerful and so frequent and universal shall be the sacrifices, which shall be offered unto God, in joy and thanksgiving, as that all the Arabian flocks shall be gladly consecrated to this service, and shall ascend up, in a holy smoke, to the God of Heaven; and I will exceedingly glorify my Church, wherein I am honoured.

Isaiah 60:8

Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?

Then shall my Church, wondering at so frequent a confluence, say, Who are these, that come flying, as thick as clouds, and as swiftly as the doves to their windows?

Isaiah 60:9

Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD.

Surely the foreign nation shall be called into the Church, even from beyond the seas: the ships shall be employed, therefore, to bring in both their persons and their treasures, to be dedicated to the service of God.

Isaiah 60:10

And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee.

And, in a type of the restoration of my Church, behold, the sons of strangers shall help to re-edify the walls of Jerusalem; and their kings shall give bountiful gifts, towards the repairing of the edifices thereof.

Isaiah 60:11

Therefore thy gates shall be open continually: they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.

The doors of the Church, under the Gospel, shall be always open: they shall not be shut, either by night or day, upon any man; but shall be wide opened, to receive all comers; that the riches of the Gentiles, and their kings and governors, may have a clear and free ingress thereinto.

Isaiah 60:12

For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.

As there neither is nor can be any salvation out of Christ, or out of the Church; surely that person, or that nation and kingdom, that cometh not in, and submitteth not to the government of Christ in his Church, cannot chuse but perish.

Isaiah 60:13

The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.

All the tall cedars of Lebanon, and all those other varieties of trees, both for building and sculpture, shall gladly be employed VOL. III. D D to the re-edifying of the material temple; and all persons, both honourable and mean, shall joyfully be employed to be the pieces of my spiritual Church and Sanctuary; so as the place, where I shall fix my foot, and dwell for ever, shall be beautiful and glorious.

Isaiah 60:14

The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; &c.

The posterity of those, that persecuted thee. O my Church, shall come in, and with all reverence submit themselves unto thee; &c.

Isaiah 60:16

Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings.

The Gentiles and their kings, which heretofore have been hostilely bent against thee, shall now lay to nourish and sustain thee, even as the mother doth her child, with the milk of their breasts; and shall yield thee their best succour and assistance.

Isaiah 60:17

For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness.

I know you will much lament the ruins of the glorious temple; but, be of good cheer: it shall be better built than before: instead of the former brass, it shall now be enriched with gold; and, in all the whole fabric, the change shall be to the better: and, whereas you have served under a hard bondage of the Babylonians, now, instead of those tyrannous officers, you shall have peace; and, instead of exactors, justice.

Isaiah 60:18

But thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.

The safeguard of God shall be instead of walls unto thee, and thy gates shall be full of the praise of thy God.

Isaiah 60:19

The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.

There shall be a certain stability and fixedness of the happy estate, wherein thou art: thou shalt not be subject to any more interchanges of light and darkness, or depend upon those outward means of comfort, which are wont to convey it to the world; but the Lord himself, who is ever one and unchangeable, shall be thine everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. So verse 20.

Isaiah 60:21

Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.

Those, that are the true and lively members of the Church, shall be all sincere and upright; not wicked, not hypocritical: they shall be unremovably fastened in their holy station; as being the branches of my own planting, and the work of my own hands, which I have made for the glory of my mercy.

Isaiah 60:22

A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time.

ISAIAN, CHAP. LX. LXI. Though thou be now small in number, yet thou shalt become exceeding populous; and thou, which art now weak, shalt become a strong and mighty people: I, the Lord, will, in due time, and that ere long, accomplish it.