Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 62:9

"but they that have garnered it shall eat it, and praise Jehovah; and they that have gathered it shall drink it in the courts of my sanctuary." — Isaiah 62:9 (ASV)

But those who have gathered it shall eat it - There will be a state of security, so that everyone may enjoy the fruits of their own labor. Nothing is a more certain indication of liberty and prosperity than this: that everyone may securely enjoy the fruits of their own labor. Nothing more certainly marks the advance of civilization, and nothing so much tends to encourage industry and promote prosperity.

When a person has no security that what they sow will be reaped by themselves, when there is danger that it will be destroyed or consumed by foreign invaders, or when it is liable to be taken by arbitrary power to minister to the needs and luxuries of the great, there will be no industry, no incentive to labor. Such is the condition always in war. Such is the condition now in the Turkish dominions; and such is the state in savage life and in all uncivilized communities.

And as the tendency of true religion is to repress wars, establish order, and diffuse just views of human rights, it everywhere promotes prosperity by furnishing security that a person will enjoy the fruits of their own productive industry. Wherever the Christian religion prevails in its purity, the fulfillment of this prophecy is seen; and the extension of that religion everywhere would promote universal industry, order, and law.

And praise the Lord - They will not consume it on their lusts, nor will they partake of it without gratitude. God will be acknowledged as the bountiful giver, and they will render Him appropriate thanksgiving.

And those who have brought it together - Those who have gathered in the vintage.

Shall drink it in the courts of my holiness - It would be drunk with gratitude to God in the feasts which were celebrated at the temple (Deuteronomy 12:17–18; Deuteronomy 14:23). The idea is that the effect of true religion would be to produce security and liberty, and to make people feel that all their blessings came from God; to partake of them with gratitude, and to make them the occasion of praise and thanksgiving.

In all their affliction he was afflicted - This is a most beautiful sentiment, meaning that God sympathized with them in all their trials, and that he was ever ready to aid them. This sentiment accords well with the connection, but there has been some doubt whether this is the meaning of the Hebrew.

Lowth renders it, as has been already remarked, ‘It was not an envoy, nor an angel of his presence that saved him.’ Noyes renders it, ‘In all their straits they had no distress.’ The Septuagint renders it, ‘It was not an ambassador (ου ̓ πρέσβυς ou presbus), nor an angel (οὐδὲ ἄγγελος oude angelos), but he himself saved them.’ Instead of the present Hebrew word (צר tsar — ‘affliction’), they evidently read it, ציר tsiyr — ‘a messenger.’ The Chaldee renders it, ‘Every time when they sinned against him, so that he might have brought upon them tribulation, he did not afflict them.’ The Syriac renders it, ‘In all their calamities he did not afflict them.’ This variety of translation has arisen from an uncertainty or ambiguity in the Hebrew text.

Instead of the present reading (לא lo' — ‘not’) about an equal number of manuscripts read לו lô — ‘to him,’ by the change of a single letter. According to the former reading, the sense would be, ‘in all their affliction, there was no distress,’ that is, they were so comforted and supported by God, that they did not feel the force of the burden. According to the other mode of reading it, the sense would be, ‘in all their affliction, there was affliction to him;’ that is, he sympathized with them, and upheld them. Either reading makes good sense, and it is impossible now to ascertain which is correct. Gesenius supposes it to mean, ‘In all their afflictions there would be actually no trouble to them. God sustained them, and the angel of his presence supported and delivered them.’ For a fuller view of the passage, see Rosenmuller. In the uncertainty and doubt in regard to the true reading of the Hebrew, the proper way is not to attempt to change the translation in our common version.

It expresses an exceedingly interesting truth, and one that is suited to comfort the people of God: that he is never unmindful of their sufferings; that he feels deeply when they are afflicted; and that he hastens to their relief. It is an idea which occurs everywhere in the Bible, that God is not a cold, distant, abstract being; but that he takes the deepest interest in human affairs, and especially that he has a tender solicitude in all the trials of his people.

And the angel of his presence saved them - This angel, called ‘the angel of the presence of God,’ is frequently mentioned as having conducted the children of Israel through the wilderness and as having interposed to save them (Exodus 23:20, 31; Exodus 32:34; Exodus 33:2; Numbers 20:16). The phrase ‘the angel of his presence’ (Hebrew, פניו מלאך פ mal^e'âk pânâyv, ‘angel of his face,’ or ‘countenance’) means an angel that stands in his presence and enjoys his favor, as a man does who stands before a prince or who is admitted constantly to his presence .

Evidently, there is a reference here to an angel of superior order or rank, but to whom this refers has been a matter of doubt among interpreters. Jarchi supposes that it was Michael, mentioned in Daniel 10:13-21. The Chaldee renders it, ‘The angel sent (שׁליח sh^elı̂yach) from his presence.’ Most Christian interpreters have supposed that the reference is to the Messiah, as the manifested guide and defender of the children of Israel during their long journey in the desert.

This is not the place to go into a theological examination of that question. The sense of the Hebrew here is that it was a messenger sent from the immediate presence of God and therefore of elevated rank. The opinion that it was the Son of God is one that can be sustained by arguments that are not easily refuted. On the subject of angels, according to the Scripture doctrine, the reader may consult with advantage an article by Dr. Lewis Mayer, in the Bib. Rep., Oct. 1388.

He redeemed them - (See the notes at Isaiah 43:1).

And he bare them - As a shepherd carries the lambs of the flock, or as a nurse carries her children; or still more probably, as an eagle bears her young on her wings (Deuteronomy 32:11–12). The idea is, that he conducted them through all their trials in the wilderness, and led them in safety to the promised land (compare the notes at Isaiah 40:11).

All the days of old - In all their former history. He has been with them and protected them in all their trials.