Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.
Remember thy congregation, which thou last purchased of old. A strong plea for present deliverance is here urged-namely, Gods, grace of old, which had elected His people, and "purchased," or made them His own, by delivering them from Egypt (Isaiah 43:3, note).
The rod of thine inheritance - literally, the rod with which the inheritance is measured; then the inheritance itself (Ezekiel 40:3). The fundamental passage is Deuteronomy 32:9, "The Lord's portion is His people; Jacob is the lot (Hebrew, cord) of His inheritance." Not the tribal rod; because the 'tribe' would not stand for the whole people. Isaiah 63:17 is plural, "the tribes of thine inheritance" (Jeremiah 10:16; Jeremiah 51:19).