For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, [saying], This [is] Zion, whom no man seeketh after.
Ver. 17. For I will restore health.] It goes best with the Church when worst with her enemies. It shall do so much more when all Christ's foes shall be made his footstool.
Because they called thee an Outcast.] Concluding so from thine afflictions. The Jewish nation, saith Cicero, a show how well God regards them, that have been so oft subdued, by the Chaldees, Greeks, Romans, &c. This was but a slender argument, only God is moved by the enemy's insolence and insults to look in mercy the rather upon his poor despised and despited people.
Saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.] Illusio ex allusione, this was a jeer by playing upon her name, b as if Zion signified a dry or waste place, and therefore not much to be desired. Strabo indeed saith as much of Judea; and Mount Zion at this day, nihil habet eximium, nihil expetendum, hath no great desire in it. But certainly Judea was once a land flowing with milk and honey, and Mount Zion was in no small request. Howsoever, none ought by their bitter taunts to add affliction to the afflicted, but rather to weep with those that weep; "be pitiful, be courteous." 1Pe 3:8
a Quam cara diis esset, docuit, quod est victa, quod elocata, quod servata. - Cic, pro Flacco.
b Per ludibrium et blasphemam contumeliam.