Charles Spurgeon Commentary Isaiah 60:9

"Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, for the name of Jehovah thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee." — Isaiah 60:9 (ASV)

Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.

In ships from these remote islands, and from countries that were dimly spoken of, in the East, as "lands of Tarshish," far away, great multitudes were to come to Christ. Are they not coming today from this Ultima Thule, this distant land beyond the pillars of Hercules, are they not coming to Christ as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?

Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first,

Tarshish was some country far away from Palestine; it is difficult to say exactly where it was, but the Phoenicians made their most distant voyages there. It may have been this very island in which we live, and we know that they came here for tin.

It is a very remarkable thing that islanders have usually been the first people to be converted to Christ. If you will, at this moment, think of any places where true religion is strong and dominant, you will naturally think of islands.

Then, the mention of ships shows what regard God has for sailors when he says, The ships of Tarshish first.