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The Word of Comfort and the God of Comfort.
The last part of the book of the prophet Isaiah has fitly been called the Book of Comfort, for in its beautiful language and in its exalted visions the Gospel of salvation is so clearly taught that it often seems as though John himself were speaking. The preacher and the prophet are combined in the message brought out by Isaiah to such an extent as to make us feel that voices from the world beyond are singing a glorious hymn of praise.
The Gospel of Comfort
v. 1. Comfort ye, comfort ye, My people, saith your God. Note the repetition of the charge, with the emphasis implied, the significance of the address in the plural as including the Gospel-messengers of all times, and the inviting designations "My" people and "your" God. In the very charge of Jehovah there is contained a tender call to the believers of all times to find true comfort and consolation in the message of salvation.
v. 2. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, literally, "to the heart of Jerusalem," addressing words of consolation to all members of the spiritual Zion, the Church of God, and cry unto her, in a sermon of sweetest assurance, that her warfare is accomplished, that the tribulation to which His people are subjected would soon be ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, namely, in and through the Messiah, whose coming is so clearly foretold in this series of prophecies; for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins, that is, the severe punishment which the Lord's people had to endure for their sins was to be replaced in richest measure by evidences of His grace and mercy. That is the strange and wonderful manner in which the Lord deals with His children always—He substitutes acts of love and mercy for the well-merited condemnation. The prophet now shows in what way his threefold message would be realized.
v. 3. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, of the herald of the great King Messiah, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, in the very midst of the spiritual wilderness in which men find themselves by nature, they should make ready a road on which their King might come into their hearts, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
v. 4. Every valley shall be exalted, the hearts that have been humbled by the hammer-blows of the Law being lifted up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, the proud and self-righteous spirits being taught to despair of their own virtue; and the crooked shall be made straight, the hindrances laid flat, and the rough places plain, all obstructions due to sin and objection to the Lord and His Word being removed by the message of the New Testament;
v. 5. and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, namely, chiefly in the coming of His only-begotten Son, full of grace and truth, Joh_1:14, and all flesh shall see it together, all men having an opportunity to become acquainted with the Gospel of salvation, Mat_24:14; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. The paragraph deals with the call to repentance with which the Messianic era opened, particularly in the preaching of John the Baptist, Mat_3:1-3; Mar_1:2-3; Luk_3:2-6; Joh_1:23, but finds its application also in all true preaching of the New Testament, which is essentially a proclamation of sin and grace. The prophet now introduces a dialog between a heavenly voice and that of the ideal prophet concerning the proclamation which is to be made.
v. 6. The voice, some one with authority speaking from heaven, said, Cry, call out, announce! And he, a voice on earth representing all true preachers of righteousness, said, What shall I cry? What are to be the contents of his preaching? And the answer comes down from heaven, All flesh is grass, all human beings are mortal, transitory, perishable, subject to death and decay, and all the goodliness thereof, all the outward show and pomp of men, is as the flower of the field, barely reaching an early maturity before it withers.
v. 7. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it, for it is He who gives them their being, and it is He who causes their decay; surely the people is grass, even the covenant nation. Cf Psa_104:29-30; Ecc_8:8; Rom_6:23; Psalms 90.
v. 8. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, the repetition being made for the sake of impressing this great truth upon all minds; but the Word of our God shall stand forever, in the midst of the death and decay of this world, in the midst even of the final great cataclysm which will usher in the end of the present earth, the Word of the Lord abides without change and modification, throughout eternity. The prophet, therefore, urges Zion, the Church of the Lord, to make known this Word with rejoicing,
v. 9. O Zion, that bringest good tidings, the congregation of the Lord being regarded as an evangelist proclaiming the message of the Gospel, get thee up into the high mountain, from where her voice could be heard far and wide. O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, the parallelism bringing out the urgency of the call, lift up thy voice with strength, in triumphant strains, in a cheerful announcement; lift it up, be not afraid, faint-hearted on account of the feeling of unworthiness; say unto the cities of Judah, to all those who have experienced tribulation similar to that of the mother, Behold your God! The picture is that of the deliverance from the Babylonian captivity, but its application throughout presupposes New Testament conditions.
v. 10. Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, the almighty Ruler making use of His omnipotence, and His arm shall rule for Him, in triumphing over all enemies. Behold, His reward is with Him, namely, that which He gained in the severe battle which He undertook, and His work before Him, the spoils which He has brought back, with which He intends to bless His people. One of these blessings is now described.
v. 11. He shall feed His flock, take the proper care of all His children in the faith, like a shepherd, in His capacity as the one true Shepherd of their souls; He shall gather the lambs, the young, weak, and inexperienced, with His arm, picking them up since they are unable to walk, and carry them in His bosom, with the most tender care, and shall gently lead those that are with young, lest the ewes be harmed by being overdriven. This entire introductory section, with its four strophes outlining the last part of the book, pictures the coming of the Messiah in all the beauty of its comfort, calls to repentance, emphasizes the certainty of His salvation, and proclaims the victory of the Lord and the glorification of the believers.