Charles Spurgeon Commentary Isaiah 61:5-6

"And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and foreigners shall be your plowmen and your vine-dressers. But ye shall be named the priests of Jehovah; men shall call you the ministers of our God: ye shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves." — Isaiah 61:5-6 (ASV)

And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But you shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: you shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory you shall boast yourselves.

Because of the sin of His people, the aliens and the foreigners trample upon them; but if you and I are truly of the holy seed, having living faith in Christ, we shall look upon the whole race of men as enduring all their care and toil on our behalf.

They shall be our plowmen and our vinedressers; but we shall be the ministers of God, the priests of the Lord.

We shall make use of every new invention—traveling by steam, speaking by telephone—using everything for God's glory, letting men invent all they can, and we ourselves turning all things to account for the honor and glory of our God.

I know that there is another fulfillment of this text for God's ancient people, but this also is a fulfillment of it to us who are His spiritual people, His real children, born according to the promise.

And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord:

This was true of God's ancient people, but it is true of us also.

Let us cast away our earthly cares, let our only care be to serve our God; for then, strangers shall stand and feed our flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be our plowmen and our vinedressers; but we "shall be named the Priests of the Lord."

And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But you shall be named the priests of the LORD.

God's true Israel, his chosen, his elect — they may look upon all other men as their plowmen and their vinedressers. Kings and queens rule the world for you. For you the merchant, with his keel, divides the sea; for you the plowman plows the soil. As for you, though you have a hand in these things, they are not your main employment. Your occupation is a higher one than theirs — the service of your God. You shall be named the priests of the Lord.