The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them. Isaiah 35 The blessings of the Gospel G. F. Pentecost, D. D. The thirty-fourth and the thirty-fifth chapters of Isaiah are by the best scholars supposed to constitute one entire and complete prophecy, not connected specially, or at least organically, with what goes before or follows. It is a masterpiece of poetry. A single poem divided into two parts; in the first part, the prophet sets forth in lurid colours the universal judgments of God upon all the nations of the earth which have arrayed themselves against Him and oppressed His people. As an instance of what shall come upon all, he selects a single nation, that of the Edomites, and shows forth in them what shall come upon all. This awful storm of wrath passes away; and we see in the "clear shining after rain" the beautiful prospect which is opened up to both earth and man, when God's enemies cease from troubling and His people are gathered unto Himself. The almost universal habit of spiritualising this, and all like prophecies, and allegorising them into an exclusive application to present Gospel blessings, has served to hide the chief significance of the passage from the eyes of the ordinary reader. The promise of this glorious chapter is without doubt primarily and chiefly to the Jews, referring to their final restoration to their own land in the last days. That it has a preliminary reference to the return from the Babylonian captivity is possible, but it looks far beyond that time to the return from the dispersion which the Jews are now suffering. Even the joy of that first return did not fulfil the glorious promises of this vision. God's day of vengeance, and the year of His redeemed, are thus set side by side. (Compare with Isaiah 61:2; and Isaiah 63:4, with Matthew 24:27-31 ; Luke 21:25-28 .) I. THE REJOICING CREATION. It is almost impossible not to associate the magnificent opening words of this chapter with the hope held out to the "whole creation which groaneth and travalleth in pain together until now, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God, when it shall also be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God" ( Romans 8:19-23 ). "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them." This is a beautiful picture of the sympathy of the earth with man. Not only do the beautiful parts of the earth rejoice with the home-coming of man from his wanderings from God, but the very wilderness and solitary places rejoice and are glad for them, because also in man's redemption the creation which was cursed for man's sake is set free from that curse. The gladness which is here ascribed to the inanimate creation corresponds with the songs and everlasting joy which crown the redeemed of the Lord on their return. The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto them and the excellency of Carmel and Sharon. Two other things are ascribed to the creation. They are represented as consciously participating in the great goodness of God to man. They rejoice even with joy and singing; and they see the glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God. It is the habit of our prophet thus to invest nature with consciousness and intelligence. It is the habit of-all scriptural writers to put man and nature into close sympathy with each other, declaring that God is the maker of both. There is a great spiritual as well as poetic truth in this. How powerfully are we affected by plastic nature! How responsive the soil, the fruits of earth, and trees of the forest to the loving touch and sympathy of man! Who does not know how wonderfully different all nature seemed to us when we were first converted to God. What a world of beauty this will be when the curse is removed and man and nature, so manifestly made for each other, shall rejoice and be glad together! II. THE BLESSINGS OF SALVATION. The outline of blessing which the prophet sets before us is not complete, but simply consists of a few bold strokes, serving to fill us with the hope of perfect and complete recovery to God. 1. Men shall see God. The vision of God has already been ascribed in a metaphorical sense to the inanimate creation. It is certainly true that, among the chiefest blessings of salvation, is the vision of God When Jesus came into the world, we are told that in Him we beheld the glory of God, full of grace and truth We are also told that the first effect of the new birth is the ability of the sinner to see God. The purification of the heart which comes with the new life of God in the soul, carries with it the promise of seeing God ( John 1:14 ; John 3:3 ; Matthew 5:8 ; 2 Corinthians 3:18 ). But there is manifestly something more than this meant. "They shall see the glory of Jehovah and the excellency of our God." This can refer to nothing else than that beatific vision of God spoken of by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:12 ; by John in the Revelation 22:4 . Yet again, if we are to include the saints of the Church in this prophecy, then we shall also have to look for a more literal fulfilment still. When the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven in power and great glory ( Matthew 26:64 ; Daniel 7:13 ; John 1:51 ; 1 Thessalonians 4:16 ; Revelation 1:7 ), then the scattered Jews shall see their long-rejected Lord, as Saul of Tarsus saw Him on the way to Damascus ( Acts 9:3 ), and be instantly converted, and start on their homeward way, greeted by all the smiling and rejoicing flowers and trees and pools and newly fertilised wildernesses and waste places of the earth. During all these dark centuries the veil has been over the eyes of the Jews, but in this time the veil shall be taken away and they shall see the face, the glory, the excellency of Jehovah-God. 2. They shall strengthen and encourage each other. This is most probably a retrospective exhortation. In view of this promise and the certain coming of Jehovah and their restoration, they are exhorted to strengthen and encourage each other. There are those whose hands are weak, whose knees are feeble. They cannot fight the good fight of faith with courage, they cannot run with patience the race that is set before them. The long delays and afflictions experienced during the time of waiting has taken not only the courage out of many, but has filled them with despair. Therefore they were to say to those of a fearful heart or of a hasty tendency to unbelief: "Be strong, fear not; behold your God will come with vengeance; even God with a recompense; He will come and save you. Thus the prophet calls upon the strong to impart theft strength to the weak and their faith and courage to the faint-hearted. The new Testament writers transfer the spirit, and in part, the very words of this exhortation to the saints of the Church of God. "We that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak" ( Romans 15:1 ). 3. Infirmities shall be removed. Not only shall the earth be restored to primitive beauty, clothed with redemption glory, and tided with an almost conscious sympathy and joy, but all the infirmities which sin has entailed on our poor sinful human nature shall be removed. In view of this entire deliverance from all the consequences of sin, along with the people of Jehovah, the sore spots of earth shad be healed too. Waters in the wilderness, streams in the desert, pools covering the parched sand, and springs bursting out of thirsty lands; no longer a mirage thrown up from a few turfs of dried herbage, but veritable grass with reeds and rushes shall greet the returning and healed pilgrims. The beginning of this marvel of redemption came when Jesus was first here, opening blind eyes, healing lame limbs, unlocking deaf ears, and loosing silent tongues. Surely, if we have the will to do the will of God, we shall know of this doctrine whether it be of God. III. THE WAY HOME. Now follows a wondrous picture of the way of the return for the long absent wanderer. The way of the transgressor is hard, and the world away from God is a barren and thirsty land; but so soon as the face is set toward God and heaven, heaven's God makes the way of return easy and sure. The dispersion of the Jews was a way of misery. In the return of the Jews to God and their own land we behold the truth of the spiritual way which God has prepared for every sinner to return to Him, and by Him to heaven. 1. It is a highway. "An highway shall be there." A broad and open way, cast up and distinguished from all ether roads and tracks. It has both breadth and narrowness. Broad enough for all the world to travel over, — and He will have all men to be saved, — and yet m the highway there is a "narrow way," in which every man must walk for himself, alone and yet not alone — alone in that he must believe for himself; not alone, in that others are walking with him on the same terms and surrounded by the same conditions. 2. It is a way of holiness. That is, it is a way clean in itself, and only for the clean to traverse. "The unclean shall not pass over it." Drunkards, liars, adulterers, fornicators, covetous, idolaters, and extortioners may not walk in that way. For none of these sins shall see or enter into the kingdom of heaven. When the scoffer points to such characters in the "visible" Church, the sufficient answer is that the Church is not the way, but Jesus Himself is the Way, and all that are in Christ Jesus are new creatures, old things having passed away .and all things having become new ( 2 Corinthians 5:17 ). 3. God is with them in the way. For such is the meaning of the expression. "It shall be for those." God's children have in a sense to walk alone, and entering this way, they have to break with many who in the days of their flesh were their companions, but the presence and companionship of God with them in the way will more than compensate. No man who knows the fellowship of God and the saints ever misses the company of the world. 4. It is a way of perfect plainness. No one need fear getting lost in this way. It is so simple and straightforward, so guarded and marked, that the simple and unlearned need not err therein. "He that followeth Me," said Jesus, "shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." Besides, God has promised to hold us by our right hand, and to keep us from falling ( Isaiah 41:13 ; Jude 1:24 ). 5. It is a safe way. No lion or any ravenous beast shall be there, nor be permitted to go up thereon. God has cleared the way of enemies, so far as their ability to harm us is concerned. It was only when" Christian" turned out of the way that he met the devil and had to fight him, and even when the lions fiercely growled at him, he discovered that, by keeping in the middle of the path, they could not approach him, being chained. IV. SAFE AT HOME. What a picture is here presented to the poor outcasts of Israel! There had been a dispersion and a home-coming from Babylon. There was to be yet another far wider and more prolonged dispersion, and then at last a final homecoming. In view of this the prophet bursts out with a triumphant exclamation of victory, in which he sets all the redeemed singing for joy. He sees the wanderers and outcasts gathering from every quarter of the earth ( Isaiah 11:12 ; Isaiah 51:3 ). They come with songs of everlasting joy on their lips, bursting from their glad and happy hearts. It has been a long night to them, but joy has at last come with this thriceblessed morning. Is not this a blessed picture, too, of the triumphant entrance into the presence of God of those who have fought a good fight, kept the faith, and finished their course? ( G. F. Pentecost, D. D. ) Transformation J. Kay. The prophecy before us is one of those in which the so-called secondary meaning is, in truth, the primary. The spiritual takes precedence of the natural. I. THE SAD CONDITION OF THE LOCALITIES ON WHICH THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST IS INTENDED TO OPERATE. Let us gather into one cluster all that is said of them. "A wilderness," "a solitary place," "parched ground," "thirsty laud," "a habitation of dragons." With the exception of the last-mentioned, all the desolation seems to turn upon the absence of one element — water. What simile could so vividly depict the moral barrenness and desolation, whether of the individual, or of the world at large, apart from the glorious Gospel of the blessed God? What a wilderness the heart is, that has not God dwelling in it! The idea of "solitariness" may seem to disappear when this word "habitation" comes into view. But what a habitation it is! "A habitation of dragons." That, and that only, was wanting to complete the picture — the foul serpent brood, with their huge encircling folds, prepared to crush the life out of every creature that may cross their dreaded path. To a heart which has within it that "well of water springing up into everlasting life," there is no sadder scene than the unutterable desolateness of these moral wastes presented by hearts that are unchanged. What is true of the individual is equally true of the aspect presented by the world at large. It may, perhaps, be imagined that the one element which is wanting to turn all this desolation into smiling fertility is Civilisation. That has been already weighed in the balances and found wanting. What the wilderness, and the solitary place, and the desert, and the parched ground, and the thirsty land require is — the Water of Life, gushing from the smitten rock, Christ Jesus. II. THE EFFECTS PRODUCED BY THE KINGDOM OF JESUS. Even to us, in a country where water is plentiful, the beauty and appropriateness of the image are at once apparent. What a charm it adds to the landscape, whether in the form of the great ocean, bearing on its bosom the treasures of the world, or of the river winding through the pleasant meadows, which drink in fertility and beauty from the living stream! The like with its mirror-like surface basking in the sun, suggests, too, the theme of the prophet's song. But it was with an appreciation more intense that the inhabitants of these Eastern lands regarded this emblem of the life that is in Jesus Christ. Water spoke to them of deliverance from death. Hence, wherever this glad Gospel is spoken of, we find this emblem employed to bring before the mind the joy-giving results of the kingdom of Christ. Note the results as these are brought before us in our text. 1. Gladness. It requires no great effort of imagination to realise the glad aspect of nature refreshed by copious rains, after a heat that has scorched the grass, and dwarfed the corn. Fitting emblem, this, of the great joy which the Gospel of Jesus brings with it to human hearts. 2. Fertility. "It shall blossom abundantly." This fertility not only stands connected with life, it is the outcome of its existence. The desert is always barren. But the mighty power of the Gospel of Jesus converts this moral wilderness into a fruit-bearing garden of the Lord. 3. Beauty. "It shall blossom as the rose." One has only to picture to himself a part of this earth's surface, parched, desert, and barren, and to think of the marvellous change which would be produced upon it were he, on revisiting the scene, to find it covered with the fairest flowers that our gardens know. The first and most striking impression made upon the mind would be that of surpassing beauty. Even so is it with the marvellous moral transformation which the prophecy before us contemplates. The glorious annals of missionary effort render it unnecessary to draw on the imagination. What a beauty is unfolded in a Christ-like life! 4. Glory and majesty. "The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel." To live under the power of Jesus is the true secret of a noble life. Whatever the sphere of life which the man occupies, he is in closest alliance with the majesty of heaven, and in virtue of that alliance is raised to regal dignity. 5. A vision that extends into the Holy of holies. "They shall see the glory of Jehovah, and the excellency of our God. ( J. Kay. ) The transformative field and force of the Gospel Homilist. I. THE SPHERE IN WINCH THE GOSPEL OPERATES. 1. The condition of depraved humanity is that of solitude. It is in a state of awful isolation. It is away from God and from fellowship with all holy spirits. Between corrupt souls there is no true fellowship, and there cannot be. 2. The condition of depraved humanity is that of wildness. It is a wilderness. Depraved souls are productive, but it is the productiveness of the wilderness. II. THE TRANSFORMATION WHICH THE GOSPEL EFFECTS. 1. The Gospel makes the sphere joyous. "The wilderness shall be glad," &c. What gladness the Gospel brings into the soul when received in full faith, the gladness of gratitude, love, hope, communion with infinite goodness. 2. The Gospel makes this sphere beautiful. "It shall blossom as the rose." The Gospel imparts to the soul beauty of the highest kind — moral beauty, the beauty of the Lord. 3. The Gospel makes the sphere grand. "The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it." As Carmel and Lebanon tower above the plains of Palestine, so the soul into which the Gospel enters is raised above its unconverted contemporaries. Christliness makes man great in moral strength, elevation, and majesty. 4. The Gospel makes the sphere glorious. "They shall see the glory of the Lord." ( Homilist. ) Christianity finally triumphant J. Parsons. I. THE CERTAINTY THAT THE NEEDED DIFFUSION OF TRUE RELIGION WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED. Man is always animated to the performance of duty by the hope of success; and in the onerous duties to which Christians are summoned, we must be animated by the assurance, proceeding from the highest authority, that our efforts shall be crowned with success. Before stating the grounds upon which the certainty as to the diffusion of our religion is founded, we shall notice some matters which have appeared to render it equivocal, but which do not really interfere with it. 1. The certainty of this diffusion is not interfered with by the obstacles against which religion in its advancing progress has to contend. The obstacles are numerous and formidable; arising from the long-indulged defects of its own disciples; the varieties existing amongst men, of language, of national character, and of social habits; the public jealousies and antipathies which so often bar intercourse, and which have sometimes been kindled into desolating wars; the inveterate depravity of the human heart, nursed into rancorous maturity by the impostures, whether barbarous or refined, which have so long prevailed, and by the malignant influence of the god of this world. To many agencies such obstacles as these would be undoubtedly fatal. But our religion possesses resources which elevate it far above and beyond them. 2. The certainty of which we speak is not interfered with by the differences existing in the professing Church as to the mode in which the anticipated diffusion shall come. Some aver that the diffusion is to take place in consequence of the personal appearance of the Saviour upon the earth; others hold that it is to come by the ordinary instrumentalities already existing in the Christian system, rendered effectual by the abundant outpouring of the Spirit. How can the ignorance of a private soldier in an immense army, as to the plan of the great chieftain, argue against the fact that that plan when developed and carried out shall secure a final and glorious victory? 3. The certainty is not interfered with by obscurity as to the time at which the anticipated diffusion shall be effected. Obscurity resting over the time when the desires of the Church shall be fulfilled and when the wants of the world shall be supplied, is a direct appointment of God, not to be the object of curiosity on the one hand, nor the source of scepticism on the other. II. THE GROUNDS OR EVIDENCE UPON WHICH WE MUST CONSIDER THAT CERTAINTY AS RESTING. It is to be deduced — 1. From general principles as to the character and government of God. Let it be admitted that God exists, that He is the moral Governor and Sovereign of the universe, that He is supremely concerned for the maintenance of His own honour, and that while powerful, and just, and holy, He is also kind and benevolent, desiring and resolved upon the well-being of His creatures, and then the conclusion which we now advocate appears to us reasonable and unavoidable. If our religion be the instrument by which He will act upon the hearts of men, so as to turn them "from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God," then, that religion will advance and proceed until every purpose of the Divine majesty and love shall have been conducted to delightful accomplishment. 2. From the constitution and progress of our religion itself. The religion of the Gospel is formed with capacities for, and with a direct view to, universal diffusion. It does not admit of any ceremonial restrictions; it takes no note of national preferences or peculiarities; it owns no distinction of rank, clime, or co]our; it addresses men on grand, comprehensive principles, dealing with them in the common wants and properties of their nature; it is founded on a redeeming provision of boundless sufficiency — a propitiation for the sins of the world; and its commission is universal as mankind. If, from the constitution of our religion you pass to its history, you find that history always bearing us onward to precisely the same conclusion. There is no class of obstacles over which it has not achieved triumphs, no order of beings among whom it has not acquired converts. 3. From the expressed testimony of the Sacred Volume. III. THE RESULTS WHICH FROM THE NEEDED DIFFUSION OF OUR RELIGION WILL ARISE. 1. Happiness in the world. "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them," &c. By the disciples of scepticism Christianity has often been slandered as the cause of sorrow. But the true spiritual religion of the Gospel can produce nothing but what is accordant with its sublime and munificent nature. Christianity never spake a word but to utter a promise, never took a step but to bring a boon, never struck a blow but to emancipate a captive, never exerted an agency but to elevate and redeem a soul. As Christianity advances, there will be the full development of results, of which now we have instances. There will be happiness to individuals, to families, and to communities or nations. Yet, what is this to the happiness of the life which is to come? 2. Supreme honour to God. "They shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God." In connection with the diffusion of our religion God will display and magnify the majestic attributes of His nature. In connection with the display and magnifying of the Divine perfections, God will receive the homage and the highest praise of all created beings. The happiness is the happiness of gratitude. Earth, with ten thousand times ten thousand voices, will celebrate His praise; the angels of heaven and "the spirits of the just made perfect" will join in the long and loud acclaim, and redemption will constitute the noble theme of their noblest songs. ( J. Parsons. ) Christmas blessings Josiah Batsman, M. A. I. THE WORLD WITHOUT THE GOSPEL IS A WILDERNESS, a "desert," a "solitary place." What though the bright promise of the spring, the warm glow of summer, the rich maturity of autumn, the quiet rest of winter, are full of beauty! What though Nature's broad plains are watered by noble rivers, though her mountains rise with majesty and grandeur, though her valleys "stand so thick with corn that they laugh and sing," and though a teeming population give animation to every habitable spot; yet, to the spiritual eye and apart from the Gospel, all is but a desert and a solitary place! And if it be so in our own fair land, which is the glory of all lands, what of the heathen nations? Men have broken loose from God. Sin has overspread the world. There is nothing to sustain the Divine life, nothing to insure spiritual health, nothing to promote the soul's eternal welfare. II. WHAT, THEN, IS THE CHANGE WHICH THE GOSPEL PRODUCES? It is the same in one and all when it comes with "demonstration of the Spirit and of power." All things become new. The "fruits of the Spirit" spring up, the solitary place is made glad, the desert rejoices and blossoms as the rose. Conclusion — 1. Has my heart been made glad by the Gospel? 2. What am I doing to make the hearts of others glad? These are questions which demand prompt answers, because — 3. The time is short. ( Josiah Batsman, M. A. ) The wilderness made glad James Foote, M. A. I. A DESERT MAY BE CONSIDERED AS BARREN AND UNCIVILISED. So, in general, are heathen countries. But, instead of unfruitfulness and barbarism, Christianity would introduce culture, civilisation, and everything which, in connection with these, tends to promote the substantial comforts of life. The Bible and the plough go together. II. A WILDERNESS MAY BE CONSIDERED AS A PLACE OF DREARY SOLITUDE. But the Gospel would introduce the endearments of society; or, at all events, sweeten solitude itself. Among even the more numerous tribes of savages, social enjoyment is but small. They have, indeed, their feasts; but these are seasons of diabolical, rather than of human mirth. Their habitual character, undoubtedly, is retiredness, melancholy, and taciturnity. On the other hand, true religion gives birth to those feelings which prompt man with confidence to seek man; while, at the same time, it enlarges the mind, and furnishes many rational and enlivening topics on which men delight to speak out of the abundance of the heart. III. A WILDERNESS MAY BE CONSIDERED AS A PLACE OF INHUMANITY AND CRUELTY. And such are heathen countries ( Psalm 74:20 ). IV. When we hear of a wilderness we think of A PLACE OF COMFORTLESS SORROW. The heathen world contains not within itself the means of soothing the sad distress with which it is filled. But such a wilderness would be gladdened by the Gospel, which would bring home to the afflicted and dying "the peace of God which passeth all understanding." V. LIKE A WILDERNESS, THE HEATHEN WORLD IS A PLACE OF AWFUL DANGER. "I was in perils," said the apostle Paul, "in the wilderness" ( 2 Corinthians 11:26 ). "Where there, is no vision the people perish." ( Proverbs 29:18 ). Improvement — 1. Let us improve the subject as furnishing ourselves with ground of gratitude and admonition. How thankful ought we to be when we contrast our own happy situation with the state of those who "sit in darkness, and in the region and shadow of death"! 2. It becomes us to consider whether we have personally embraced the Gospel. 3. Let us improve the subject in reference to the heathen. 4. According to God's wise determination human instruments are necessary ( Romans 10:14, 15 ). 5. The means of support must be furnished. 6. Already, He who is to be crowned Lord of all has gained some of His most signal triumphs in modern times, through this instrumentality. ( James Foote, M. A. ) Nativity W. Jones, M. A. Here are three things to be considered. I. THE WILDERNESS ITSELF. The world before the appearance of the Gospel was dry as a wilderness, being destitute of God's holy Spirit, which is the water of life, and the immediate cause of all righteousness. The heathen were without the good Spirit, they were exposed to the assaults of evil spirits, whose employment it is to go "to and fro in the earth" as wild beasts in a wilderness, seeking whom they may devour. And it has ever been the way of wicked men, agitated by those furious passions implanted in their nature, to become beasts of prey to one another, biting and devouring one another. But the beast which is noxious and cursed above all others is the serpent, in which we have the most perfect representation of the devil himself, and of all his children, who are called the seed of the serpent. In a place infested with such inhabitants there could be no real comfort; but on the contrary vexation, misery, disappointment, and despair. The evil that prevails among men who live without God renders this world a miserable place. II. THE CHANGE THAT WAS TO BE WROUGHT UPON IT. The knowledge of Christ engrafted in the hearts of men, soon made them green and fruitful in righteousness, and they abounded in good works, even to the astonishment of their enemies. III. THE CAUSE OF THIS BLESSED CHANGE. "They shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God." The glory of the natural world is the sun, whose presence it is that makes the day so superior to the night. But above all, the change of the winter into the spring, shows the power and excellency of this marvellous instrument. Therefore Christ, who performs the same things in the kingdom of grace as the sun doth in nature, is all respects the Sun of Righteousness. ( W. Jones, M. A. ) The desert blossoming A. Smellie, M. A. The desert shall blossom when Christ is in it, as the narcissus, the meadow-saffron, the rose. 1. There is a desert of separation from ordinary means of grace. I may be deprived, in God's providence, of my Christian surroundings. I may have to travel far from the homeland and the sound of the Sabbath bells. But Jesus may dwell in my heart by faith. And then the wilderness will be a garden. 2. There is a desert of trial. Perhaps I lose my substance. Perhaps I lose my health. Perhaps I lose my friend, the half of my own soul. How desolating the affliction is! But Jesus can bless me through it. He makes the sweetening tree grow beside Marsh. 3. There is a desert of apparent disaster to the cause of God. The Church has its periods of adversity when all things seem to be against it. But Jesus teaches it to be more serious then, more patient, more devout, stronger in faith, richer in feeling, purer in aim. 4. There is a desert of death. To go out from the world which I know so well into the world which is mysterious and strange — how my heart shrinks from it v But Jesus shows me by His Word and His Spirit and His own experience, that death is the road to glory and the path to fruitfulness and the gate into life. The solitary place shall be glad. ( A. Smellie, M. A. ) The rose W. Houghton, M. A. According to the old versions and many commentators "the narcissus" or the autumn crocus is the plant intended. ( W. Houghton, M. A. ) The rose P. Delitzsch, D. D. The name points to a bulbous plant. ( P. Delitzsch, D. D. ) Life out of death J. R. Miller, D. D. The valley of Chambra, in India, is rich in its fertility and beauty. The cause of all this fertility is a wonderful spring of water which flows from a hillside, and furnishes water for the irrigation of the whole valley, and for the use of the people who live there. Once, says the legend, the valley was without water, and there was desolation everywhere. The plants and trees were all withering, and the people were dying of thirst. The princess of the place took the sorrows of her subjects much to heart. She consulted the oracle to learn how the constant curse of drought could be removed. The oracle said that if the princess of the land would die for the people, abundant water would be given. She hastened to give her life. Her grave was made, and she was buried alive. Then forth from her tomb came a river which flowed down into the valley, restoring all languishing life in field and garden, and sending water to every door for the famishing people to drink. Ever since, the streams have continued to flow from the wonderful spring, carrying their precious benediction to every home. This old heathen legend beautifully illustrates what Christ did. The world was perishing for want of the water of life; Jesus died and was buried, and from His Cross and broken grave poured out the river of the water of life for the quenching of the world s thirst. Its streams run everywhere, and wherever they flow the wilderness has been made to blossom like a garden of roses. Beauty blooms wherever they run. ( J. R. Miller, D. D. ) Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Isaiah 35:3 Weak hands and feeble knees I. I shall attempt to show THE IMPORTANCE OF HANDS AND KNEES IN GOING TO HEAVEN. The hands and knees are those parts of the body in which the effects of fear are the most easily seen. Of course, the root of despondency and fear must lie in the heart; it is that which is first moved with terror. But afterwards these extremities, these limbs of action begin to feel the weakness also. Just so the prophet means that wherever the Christian displays most his timidity and his dismay there we must be careful to apply the remedy of comfort. 1. The hands and knees are of the

Benson Commentary Isaiah 35:1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. Isaiah 35:1 . The wilderness and solitary place, &c. — As the land of the church’s enemies, which had enjoyed many external blessings and comforts, shall be turned into a desolate wilderness, as was declared in the foregoing chapter, so, on the contrary, Emmanuel’s land, or the seat of God’s church and people, which formerly was barren and despised, like a wilderness, shall flourish exceedingly. We have more than once had occasion to observe, that by the wilderness is generally meant the Gentile world: now, it is here foretold, that, through the influence of the gospel and the grace of God, it should put on a new face, and become like a pleasant and fruitful garden; that multitudes of converts to the true religion should be made therein, and a vast number of spiritual and holy worshippers should be raised up to God in it. Some, indeed, would interpret this chapter as referring merely to the flourishing state of Hezekiah’s kingdom in the latter part of his reign, or to the cultivation of Judea again after the return of the Jews from the captivity of Babylon. But, as Bishop Lowth observes, that it has a view beyond any such events as these, “is plain from every part, especially from the middle of it, where the miraculous works wrought by our blessed Saviour are so clearly specified that we cannot avoid making the application. And our Saviour himself has, moreover, plainly referred to this very passage, as speaking of him and his works, Matthew 11:4-5 . He bids the disciples of John to go and report to their Master the things which they heard and saw; that the blind receive their sight, &c., and leaves it to him to draw the conclusion in answer to his inquiry, whether he, who performed the very works which the prophets foretold should be performed by the Messiah, was not indeed the Messiah himself. And where are these works so distinctly marked by any of the prophets as in this place? And how could they be marked more distinctly? To these the strictly literal interpretation of the prophet’s words directs us. According to the allegorical interpretation, they may have a further view; and this part of the prophecy may run parallel with the former, and relate to the future advent of Christ; to the conversion of the Jews, and their restitution to their land; to the extension and purification of the Christian faith, events predicted in Scripture as preparatory to it.” We may conclude, therefore, with certainty, that as the slaughters and desolations foretold in the former chapter look far beyond the calamities brought on Idumea and the neighbouring nations, by the Assyrians or Chaldeans; so does the bright and pleasant picture of the prosperity and happiness of God’s people, drawn in this chapter, look far beyond any felicity experienced by the Jews, either in any part of Hezekiah’s reign, or after the return from Babylon. It is undoubtedly the flourishing state of the kingdom of Christ, or of the gospel church, composed of Jews and Gentiles, which is here predicted, and especially as it shall exist in the latter days, after the destruction of all the anti-christian powers, when the fulness of the Gentiles shall be brought in, and all Israel shall be saved. Isaiah 35:2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God. Isaiah 35:2 . It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice — Great shall be the prosperity and felicity of God’s church in these gospel days. Spiritual blessings are often set forth under the emblems of fruitfulness and plenty, as the reader may see, Isaiah 4:2 ; Isaiah 30:23 ; Isaiah 32:15 , and elsewhere. The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, &c. — The prophet goes on to express the great change which should be made in the Gentile world by the gospel. For Lebanon was a mountain famous for its excellent cedars, Carmel was a most delightful woody mountain, and Sharon a most pleasant place for pasture; so that all these added together express great excellence: as if he had said, Whatever was valuable and desirable in the Mosaic economy shall be translated into, and appear in perfection in, the gospel of Christ; and the Gentile world, formerly a wilderness, shall be as much enriched with spiritual blessings, and be as fruitful in all the graces and virtues which belong to true and genuine religion, as ever Judea was, and abundantly more. They — Who formerly were in the wilderness of heathenism; shall see the glory of the Lord — The glorious discoveries and effects of God’s power and goodness to his people. Isaiah 35:3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Isaiah 35:3-4 . Strengthen ye the weak hands — Ye prophets and ministers of God, comfort and encourage his people, who are now ready to faint, with hopes of that salvation which, in due time, he will work for them. The prophet mentions hands and knees, because the strength or weakness of any man eminently appears in those parts. Say to them that are of a fearful heart — Who, because of their own weakness and the strength of their enemies, are discouraged and cast down: Hebrew, ?????? ?? , that are hasty of heart, that are for betaking themselves to flight, upon the first alarm, and for giving up the cause. Be strong, fear not — Resist your fears, confide in the power, love, and faithfulness of God, who has promised to deliver those that trust in him, and has engaged, that as your day is your strength shall be, and you shall become strong. Behold, your God will come — Though he seem to be absent, and to have departed from you, he will come and abide with you. He will come with vengeance — Namely, upon your enemies; and save you — The destruction he brings upon your enemies will be the means of your deliverance and salvation. If we suppose this to be spoken with any reference to the state of the Jews in Babylon, God avenged them when he overthrew the Babylonish empire, and brought them back to their own land. But, undoubtedly, the words are primarily intended of the coming of the Messiah in the flesh, and of the redemption and deliverance of God’s people through him; that is, of such as embraced Christianity, whom God signally avenged for all the malice and cruelty which the Jews had exercised upon them, when, by the Romans, he laid Jerusalem even with the ground, and cut off many hundreds of thousands of them by the sword, by famine, and other ways, for their obstinate rejection of the gospel, and crucifying of their Messiah. Thus Christ is said to have been set for the fall, as well as rising again, of many in Israel. Isaiah 35:4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. Isaiah 35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Isaiah 35:5-7 . Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened — The poor Gentiles, who before were blind and deaf, shall now have the eyes and ears of their minds opened to see God’s works, and to hear and receive his word. And, in token hereof, many persons who are literally and corporally blind and deaf, shall have sight and hearing miraculously conferred upon them; all which things being so fully accomplished in Christ, and, as has been just observed, applied by him to himself, it is plain that this prophecy belongs primarily to the times of the gospel. Then shall the lame leap as a hart — For joy, or shall proceed readily and nimbly in the way of duty. And the tongue of the dumb shall sing — The praises of his Redeemer and Saviour. For in the wilderness shall waters break out — The most dry and barren places shall be made moist and fruitful: which is principally meant of the plentiful effusion of God’s grace upon such persons and nations as had been wholly destitute of it. In the habitation of dragons shall be grass, &c. — Those dry and parched deserts, in which dragons have their abode, shall yield abundance of grass, and reeds, and rushes, which grow only in moist ground. Thus it was when Christian churches were planted and flourished in the cities of the Gentiles, which for many ages had been habitations of dragons, or rather of devils, Revelation 18:2 . When the property of the idols’ temples was altered, and they were converted to the service of Christianity, then the habitations of dragons became fruitful fields. Isaiah 35:6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. Isaiah 35:7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. Isaiah 35:8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein . Isaiah 35:8 . And a highway shall be there, and a way — The highway and the way are not to be taken for two different ways, but for one and the same way, even a cast-way, which is both raised ground, as the former Hebrew word ????? signifies, and a way for persons to travel in, as the latter word here used means, both signifying a convenient, prepared, plain, and common road or path for travellers; namely, the way of truth and duty marked out by the gospel, which is the rule both of our faith and practice. “The knowledge of the truth and will of God,” says Mr. Scott, “when made very plain and clear to any people, is like casting up a highway through a country that was before impassable. The Gentile world was a desert, in this as well as in other respects; no highway to God, and heaven was to be there met with. But this advantage began to be vouchsafed to the nations when the gospel was sent to them,” and the way of duty was plainly marked out. And it shall be called, The way of holiness — Trodden by holy men, and filled with holy practices; the way of holy worship, and a holy conversation. The way of holiness is that course of religious duties in which men ought to walk and press forward, with an eye to the glory of God and their own felicity, in the enjoyment of him. It is “not a way of sufferance,” says Henry, “but an appointed way, a way into which we are directed by a divine authority, and in which we are protected by a divine warrant: it is the king’s, yea, the King of kings’ highway, in which we may be waylaid, but cannot be stopped. It is the good old way, ( Jeremiah 6:16 ,) the way of God’s commandments. The unclean shall not pass over it — Either to defile it, or to disturb those that walk in it. It is a way by itself, distinguished from the way of the world; for it is a way of separation from, and nonconformity to, this world.” The expression further means, that unclean persons shall, by a proper exercise of good discipline, be kept out of Christ’s church on earth, as they certainly shall not be admitted into his kingdom in heaven. But it shall be for those — Termed afterward the redeemed, who shall walk there, Isaiah 35:9 . But Bishop Lowth and some interpreters think the clause may be better rendered, He, namely, God, shall be with them walking in the way; that is, he shall be their companion and guide in the way. Hence, though fools, they shall not err therein — The way shall be so plain and straight, that even the most foolish travellers cannot easily mistake it. Isaiah 35:9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there : Isaiah 35:9 . No lion shall be there, &c. — It shall not only be a plain, but a safe way. They that keep close to God in this way, keep out of the reach of Satan, the roaring lion: that wicked one toucheth them not; nor shall any of their other spiritual enemies be suffered to destroy, subdue, or bring them into bondage. They may proceed with a holy security and serenity of mind, and may be quiet from the fear of evil. This is the same promise with that of Isaiah 11:9 : They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain. Isaiah 35:10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Isaiah 35:10 . And the ransomed of the Lord — They whom God shall rescue from their captivity and slavery in Babylon, say some; shall return and come to Zion — Shall be restored to their own land, from whence they had been carried captive. But the following expressions are far too magnificent and emphatical to be answered by the mere return of the Jews to Judea and Jerusalem, which was accompanied and followed by many sighs and sorrows, as appears both from sacred and profane historians. We must, therefore, of necessity, understand this verse as being intended, like the preceding verses, of gospel times, and therefore by the ransomed of the Lord we must understand those who are delivered from the guilt and power of sin, and from every kind of spiritual bondage, whether to the devil, the world, or the flesh. These may be said to return, and come to Zion, with songs, when they unite themselves to God’s church and people on earth, and more especially when they arrive at the heavenly Canaan, and are admitted into the New Jerusalem, the city of the living God, and incorporated in a glorious society, with an innumerable company of angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect; with the general assembly and church of the firstborn, who are written in heaven. Then, indeed, are their heads crowned with everlasting joy; and they obtain joy and gladness in perfection, and sorrow and sighing flee away for ever. Thus these prophecies, which relate to the Assyrian invasion, conclude, for the support of the people of God, under that and other subsequent calamities, and to direct their joy, in their deliverance from them, to something higher. And thus should our joyful hopes and cheering prospects of eternal life swallow up both all the joys and all the sorrows of this present time. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Isaiah 35:1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.