Isaiah 61:1. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me;
These are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ the prophet, looking forward to the tune of his coming into the world, put them into his mouth; and in due time our Saviour read them, and applied them to himself in the synagogue at Nazareth as he said, «This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears:» «the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me;»
Isaiah 61:1. Because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,»
God has sent Christ to bind up the broken-hearted; then, will he not do it? Will he refuse, my broken-hearted brother or sister, to bind you up? O deeply-troubled, tempest-tossed spirit, will the Anointed One reject you, and refuse to fulfill his office upon you? never; it is both his name and his office to save, for he is called Jesus, the Saviour. O broken-hearted one, look to him; hear him say, at this moment, «Jehovah hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted,»
Isaiah 61:1. to proclaim liberty to the captives-
Where are you, poor, wretched bond-slaves oВЈ sin, lettered with the iron chains of despair? Christ proclaims liberty even to you. Trust him, and you shall be
«Freed from sin, and walk at large,
Your Saviour's blood your full discharge.»
«Jehovah hath sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives,»
Isaiah 61:1. And the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
There is a general discharge of prisoners; the time has come for it. Christ died to make it possible: he lives to perfect the emancipation of all for whom he died. He comes, by his Spirit, to give you the experience of it: «the opening of the prison to them that are bound.»
Isaiah 61:2. to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Oh, what precious words are these! Christ comes, commissioned of the father, «to comfort all that mourn.»
Isaiah 61:3. to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
This message is spoken to all the Lord's people; but it has a special reference to the Jews, God's ancient people. Happy times are coming for them in the years that yet lie in the future, when they accept the Messiah whom they have so long rejected.
Isaiah 61:4. And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.
In the days to come, Judea shall again be inhabited, and the ruined cities shall be built up once more. God will bring back his ancient people, converting them to the true faith, and clothing them with glory. As for ourselves, this verse is true in another sense. If we believe in Jesus, that part of us which has been given up to waste shall yet be turned to usefulness, and to God's praise.
Isaiah 61:5-6. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord:-
This was true of God's ancient people, but it is true of us also. Let us cast away our earthly cares, let our only care be to serve our God; for then, strangers shall stand and feed our flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be our ploughmen and our vinedressers; but we «shall be named the Priests of the Lord.»
Isaiah 61:6. Men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.
God's chosen people are his children; all the rest of mankind are only his servants, and the servants must wait upon the children whether they like it or not. Even of the angels in heaven it is written, «Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?» All things are the servants of the man who is the servant of God. He who is consecrated to God shall find all things consecrated to him. When all that is yours works for God, then all things shall work together for good for you.
Isaiah 61:7-8. for your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double : everlasting joy shall be unto them. for I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering;
God cannot endure that we should sacrifice to him what we have gained by oppression and wrong-doing. Some men seem to try to cut themselves in halves, and then to say, «So much is to be secular, and so much is to be sacred.» Do not you believe it; you are only one man, and what you are in secular things, that you are altogether. You cannot say, «So much is to be religion, and so much is to be business.» If your religion is not your business, and if your business does not melt into your religion, there is not much that is good in you. We cannot say, «I shall do this because it is religion, and I shall do that because it is business.» no, no; the man is one, and there is nothing to a Christian that can be marked off as secular; for all things are sacred to the man who truly serves God.
Isaiah 61:8-9. And I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed.
A visible stamp of divine blessing shall be upon believers in Christ: «they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed,» and all men shall acknowledge that it is so.
Isaiah 61:10-11. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God;.for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown, in it to spring forth y so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
So may it be right speedily, for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake! Amen.