"Shout for joy, O you barren, that did not bear; Break forth into joyful shouting, and exult, you that did not travail: For more are the children of the desolate, Than of the married woman, says Jehovah. Enlarge the place of your tent; And let the canopy of your habitation be extended: Spare not; lengthen your cords, And firmly fix your stakes: For on the right hand, and on the left, you shall burst forth with increase; And your seed shall inherit the nations; And they shall inhabit the desolate cities. Fear not, for you shall not be confounded; And blush not, for you shall not be brought to reproach: For you shall forget the shame of your youth; And the reproach of your widowhood you shall remember no more. For your husband is your Maker; Jehovah God of Hosts is His name: And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall He be called. For as a woman forsaken, and deeply afflicted, has Jehovah recalled you; And as a wife, wedded in youth, but afterwards rejected, says your God. In a little anger have I forsaken you; But with great mercies will I receive you again: In a short wrath I hid my face a moment from you; But with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on you; Says your Redeemer Jehovah. The same will I do now, as in the days of Noah, when I swore, That the waters of Noah should no more pass over the earth: So have I sworn, that I will not be wroth with you, nor rebuke you. For the mountains shall be removed; And the hills shall be overthrown: But my kindness from you shall not be removed; And the covenant of my peace shall not be overthrown; Says Jehovah, who bears towards you the most tender affection. O you afflicted, beaten with the storm, destitute of consolation! Behold, I lay your stones with cement of vermilion, And your foundations with sapphires: And I will make of rubies your battlements; And your gates of carbuncles; And the whole circuit of your walls shall be of precious stones. And all your children shall be taught by Jehovah; And great shall be the prosperity of your children. In righteousness shall you be established: Be far from oppression; yea, you shall not fear it; And from terror; for it shall not approach you. Behold, they shall be leagued together, but not by my command; Whosoever is leagued against you, shall come over to your side. Behold, I have created the smith, Who blows up the coals into a fire, And produces instruments according to his work; And I have created the destroyer to lay waste. Whatever weapon is formed against you, it shall not prosper; And against every tongue that contends with you, you shall obtain your cause. This is the heritage of Jehovah's servants, And their justification from me, says Jehovah." (Isaiah 54:1-17,Lowth)
A Key to the Understanding of the Prophecy
We have in the New Testament an inspired comment upon this scripture, which wholly relieves us of any necessity of making conjectures as to its application. "Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, you barren that bore not; break forth and cry, you that travail not: for the desolate has many more children than she which has a husband." (Galatians 4:26-27)
We know, therefore, from God's own word, that "Jerusalem which is above,"--the New Jerusalem,--is the subject of this chapter. This also serves as a key to many other references to Jerusalem, in the prophecies. From the promises in this chapter, telling of the stability of Jerusalem, and of the return of her children, which plainly refer to the Jerusalem which is above, "which comes down from God out of heaven," (Revelation 3:12) we may understand all the other promises to Jerusalem and its inhabitants. They all apply to the New Jerusalem, which is to take the place of the present city of Jerusalem, and to abide for ever, after the earth has been made new.
The Present Jerusalem and the Old Covenant
"Jerusalem which now is, ... is in bondage with her children." (Galatians 4:25)
Still more: the covenant from mount Sinai, "which genders to bondage, ... is Hagar; For this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answers to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children." (Galatians 4:24-25)
Everyone, therefore, who builds his hopes upon Jerusalem which now exists in the land of Palestine, and who makes every promise of God depend upon the return of the people of God, or any part of them, to that city, is still in the bondage of the old covenant, with the vail still over his face. He is tarrying at mount Sinai, instead of coming to mount Zion, and to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the Living God.
Jerusalem Old and New
Many cities on this earth have suffered almost total destruction by fire, and have been rebuilt, yet that fact is not considered as making any break in the continuity of those cities. Rome, for instance, is still said to have been built seven hundred and fifty years before Christ, although there is scarcely a building in the city that was in existence in the days of Christ, and the city was almost wholly destroyed by fire in the reign of Nero, and has suffered from fire many times before and since.
Take the city under consideration, namely Jerusalem. It was laid in ruins, its walls demolished, and its chief buildings burned, by Nebuchadnezzar, and afterwards it suffered still greater ravages by the hands of the Romans under Titus, yet it is always thought and spoken of as the city of David and Solomon.
When we speak of Rome and Jerusalem, we do not feel compelled to designate whether we refer to the time before their destruction, or after, since it is Rome and Jerusalem from beginning to end, no matter what vicissitudes they have passed through.
Even so it is in the prophecies concerning Jerusalem. The Bible does not always specify, and say that now it refers to the old city, and now to the New Jerusalem, but speaks simply of Jerusalem, leaving the context, and the promises or threatenings, as the case may be, to determine to which state in the history of the city the words apply.
The Lord has gone to prepare a place in the heavens, to build up a new city, (See John 14:1-3; Psalm 102:16) which is to come down from God out of heaven, to occupy the place now occupied by the city known among men as Jerusalem; and when that city comes down, it will be considered as the old city rebuilt, made new; and so it is always spoken of in the Bible.
It may be taken as a fact beyond all contradiction, that there is not a single Bible promise concerning Jerusalem, which applies to Jerusalem in its present condition, or as it has been at any time in its history. Every promise of restoration embraces its being so changed by the Lord as to be incorruptible, imperishable.
The Bride, The Lamb's Wife
"Fear not; for you shall not be ashamed: neither be confounded; for you shall not be put to shame: for you shall forget the shame of your youth, and shall not remember the reproach of your widowhood any more. For your Maker is your husband; the Lord of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall He be called." (Isaiah 54:4-5)
From the very beginning, God has considered himself as occupying the close relation of husband to His people. Read the prophecies of Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and the whole of Hosea. The 3rd chapter of Jeremiah is especially plain. "Turn, O backsliding children, says the Lord; for I am married unto you." (Jeremiah 3:14)
And then the Lord tells what He will do if they will return, using words that can apply only to the redeemed state. Speaking of the making of the new covenant, God says that His people broke the old covenant, "although I was a husband unto them." (Jeremiah 31:3)
So, coming to the New Testament, we read that we are to be "married ... to Him that is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God." (Romans 7:4)
Paul writes, "I have espoused you to one husband, and I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." (2 Corinthians 11:2)
And in the 5th chapter of Ephesians we read that the same close relation exists between Christ and His people that exists between a man and his wife. "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That He might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church." (Ephesians 5:22-32)
So by a change in the metaphor, or an enlargement of it, the city of God, Jerusalem, is considered as married to Christ. The very land itself where God's people dwell, is married to Him. This is perfectly in harmony with the fact that Christ, who is "the firstborn among many brethren," (Romans 8:29) is also "the everlasting Father." (Isaiah 9:6)
It is not a mixed metaphor, but the expression of a deeper meaning, a more intimate relation, than human minds have conceived. "For the Lord has called you as a woman forsaken and grieved inspirit, and a wife of youth, when you were refused, says your God. For a small moment have I forsaken you; but with great mercies will I gather you. In a little wrath I hid my face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on you, says the Lord your Redeemer." (Isaiah 54:6-8)
The chapter before us, therefore, presents Jerusalem as a wife forsaken by her husband, and mourning her widowhood and childlessness, but comforted by the assurance that she has not really been cast off, and is not forgotten, but is still owned by her husband, and will be honored by Him.
The time when these promises will be fulfilled is set forth in Revelation 21; Zechariah 14:1-11; and Isaiah 49:13-23, all of which should be read in this connection. It is the Bride, the Lamb's wife, that is addressed.
The Different Phases of Jerusalem's Experience
There was a time when the glory of God was seen resting over the temple in Jerusalem, and filling it. "Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord's house. And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the Lord, saying, For He is good; for His mercy endures for ever." (2 Chronicles 7:1-3)
God owned that city as His earthly dwelling place, and the promise to its inhabitants was that if they obeyed Him, and refrained from breaking the Sabbath, the city should stand for ever. "And it shall come to pass, if you diligently hearken unto me, says the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein; Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever." (Jeremiah 17:24-25)
They did not heed His words, and the city was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar; yet a holy seed was left in it, and the promise of restoration accompanied the threat of its destruction. According to the promise, Christ, "the Desire of all nations," (Haggai 2:7) came to the city and temple, but was rejected. Then He wept over it, mourning in bitterness of grief, that the city had so persistently refused His gracious calls, and said, "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." (Matthew 23:38)
But this was not to be for ever, for He added, "I say unto you, You shall not see me henceforth, till you shall say, Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord." (Matthew 23:39)
The centuries that have passed since that time have been only "a little moment" (Isaiah 26:20) with Him in whose sight a thousand years are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. (Psalm 90:4) Not for a moment has the Lord forgotten Zion; its walls are continually before Him, and it is graven upon the palms of His hands. (Isaiah 49:16) "For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from you, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, says the Lord that has mercy on you." (Isaiah 54:10)
Even though the mountains depart, and the hills be removed, yet His kindness and love will not depart from the city which He has chosen, nor from her children. Consequently even today the faithful worshipers of God direct their prayers to Him, and "look up," (Luke 21:28) thus praying with their faces towards Jerusalem.
The Rebuilding of Jerusalem
No; God has not divorced His spouse, (Isaiah 50:1) nor cast away His people. (Romans 11:1) He loves them with tender affection. He will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down, and will build again the ruins thereof, and will set it up; (Amos 9:11) "That the residue of men might seek after the Lord;" (Acts 15:17) and this He will do by the proclamation of the Gospel to the Gentiles; for it is only from the Gentiles, the nations, that Israel is taken. God chose Abraham from among the Gentiles, for there was no such thing as a Jew or an Israelite, in name, until long after the days of that patriarch. He called Israel out of Egypt, that through them His name might be made known in all the earth. "Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of your habitations: spare not, lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes." (Isaiah 54:2)
Their business was to be missionaries to the heathen; but instead of performing their mission, they were content to settle down in the land of Palestine, around Jerusalem. Instead of enlarging the place of their habitation, to include all the world, they became conservative, which is another name for selfish, and shut everybody else away from the blessings which they enjoyed, and thereby lost the blessings themselves.
Whoever would exclude another from the blessings of the Lord, excludes himself. But God's purpose will be carried out. All who are really born from above, having the New Jerusalem for their mother, will make its glories and its power known, until its fame reaches every part of the earth. As a consequence the place that Jerusalem now occupies will be too small; "[It] shall break forth and spread abroad on the right hand, and on the left, and [its] seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited." (Isaiah 54:3,RV) "And His [Christ's] feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south." (Zechariah 14:4)
Jerusalem, as it will be when the Lord appears in His glory, will be such a city as the world has never yet seen.
Jerusalem's Beautiful Stones
"O you afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay your stones with fair colors, and lay your foundations with sapphires. And I will make your windows of agates, and your gates of carbuncles, and all your borders of pleasant stones." (Isaiah 54:11-12) "You shall arise, and have mercy upon Zion; for the time to favor her, yea, the set time, is come. For your servants take pleasure in her stones, and favor the dust thereof. So shall the heathen fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth your glory." (Psalm 102:13-15)
What is there in the dust and stones of Jerusalem, in which one can take pleasure? Nothing whatever, in "Jerusalem which now is." (Galatians 4:25)
The stones of old Jerusalem are no better than the stones of any other city, and its dust is as disagreeable as that of Constantinople, or any other Eastern city. The stones in which the children of Jerusalem take pleasure as the sapphires and agates and carbuncles, which are laid in "fair colors." Read the list of them: "And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl." (Revelation 21:18-21)
The dust of its street is "pure gold, as it were transparent glass." (Revelation 21:21)
There is something in which to delight; there is a city that will indeed be "the joy of the whole earth." (Psalm 48:2)
The Gathering of Armed Forces About Jerusalem
"In righteousness shall you be established: you shall be far from oppression; for you shall not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near you. Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against you shall fall for your sake." (Isaiah 54:14-15)
The closing portion of this chapter presents a picture that is drawn out more fully in the book of Revelation. We have already seen that the New Jerusalem, prepared in heaven, comes down to this earth; but nothing that has thus far been noted indicates what condition of things it finds when it comes. This we learn from Revelation 20, and incidentally from other Scriptures.
The passage before us says that although the city with its inhabitants will "be far from oppression," and will be free from fear, yet "they shall surely gather," and that, too, against the city. In the chapter referred to in the Revelation we learn that after the close of the thousand years, during which Satan will be bound, while all the righteous who have ever lived on earth will be in heaven, sitting on thrones of judgment, deciding the penalty due to the wicked, (Revelation 20:3-6; 1 Corinthians 6:2-3; Psalm 149:4-9) Satan will be loosed, because all the wicked of earth will be raised, and he will go forth among them, to gather them to battle against the Lord. The statement that all the nations thus gathered "went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them," (Revelation 20:9) shows that the beloved city will come down to this earth before the earth has been purified by the fires of the last day, and while the wicked are yet here. As Eden remained on the earth a time after the curse came, so it will come back before the curse is removed.
But though the wicked, under the leadership of Satan himself, will gather together against the city of God, they cannot prosper, because they are not gathered by the Lord. No weapon that they can forge against the city will have any effect upon it. (Isaiah 54:17) No cannon ball will ever be able to touch one of its stones. God himself has "created the smith that blows the coals of fire," (Isaiah 54:16) in order to manufacture the weapon to destroy, and therefore since the man himself is nothing in comparison with God, the weapon that he makes cannot be anything. When the wicked come against the city, "fire comes down from God out of heaven, and devours them," (Revelation 20:9) and at the same time melts the earth, while the city of God will ride upon the sea of fire as the ark rode safely upon the waters of the flood. Then will the saints "dwell with the devouring fire, [and] with everlasting burnings." (Isaiah 33:14)
The saints safe in the city will behold, and see the reward of the wicked, but it will not come nigh them.
The Safety of Jerusalem and Its Inhabitants
What will constitute their safety in that terrible time? The answer is, "In righteousness shall you be established." (Isaiah 54:14)
The righteousness in which they will be established is the righteousness of God, that is by the faith of Jesus Christ. But that righteousness is theirs now. Therefore the lesson that is designed for us to learn from the statement of the things to come is the perfect security that we now have against all the assaults of the devil. "No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, says the Lord." (Isaiah 54:17)
Just as safe as the people of God will be in the holy city amid the fires that will destroy the wicked, so safe are they now from every sort of evil that Satan would bring upon them, if they but trust in the Lord, and abide in Him. Satan and all his host cannot forge a weapon of any sort, visible or invisible, whether designed to destroy the body or the soul, which can pierce the armor that is provided for the people of God. "The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." (Deuteronomy 33:27)
Not walls nor hills could guard so well
Fair Salem's happy ground,
As those eternal arms of love,
That every saint surround.
--Isaac Watts, Paraphrase of Psalm 125:2: Unshaken as the Sacred Hills.
And no one can pluck a saint out of those protecting arms. Blessed be the name of the Lord, into which the righteous run, and are safe! "The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runs into it, and is safe." (Proverbs 18:10)--Present Truth, April 5, 1900--Isaiah 54:1-17.