Charles Spurgeon Commentary Isaiah 54:4

"Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth; and the reproach of thy widowhood shalt thou remember no more." — Isaiah 54:4 (ASV)

Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

The dark past, the dreary past, shall be so obliterated with abounding mercy that you shall forget it. Your memory of it shall not be painful. It shall only be as a foil behind the bright diamond of mighty mercy, if you remember it at all.

Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

I am not going to interpret the passage in its strict connection, but to use it for our comfort and instruction. O you who are cast down, you poor trembling ones who long to be at one with God, but feel as if you could not find him, believe in the Lord your God, and trust in his Son, Jesus Christ, for there are glad times coming for you! All your former moments of sadness will be forgotten, and you will have such joy and delight as you can hardly imagine at present.

Fear not, for you shall not be ashamed; nor 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.

Here is a third line for faith to run upon: namely, that of courage.

Before you are strong, before you have been lifted up out of your weakness, be of good courage and fear not. For if you walk by faith and trust in the Lord with all your heart, you shall never have any cause to be ashamed of having done so. The Lord will always honour your faith because your faith honours him. Be of good cheer, for you shall yet have good reason to rejoice. And all those days that you are now ashamed to think of, in which you lived without God, and without Christ, your days of sad and terrible widowhood, shall be so completely surpassed by the abundance of mercy which you shall receive from the Lord, that you shall not remember them any more.