John Gill Commentary Isaiah 52

Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion
Aben Ezra says, all interpreters agree that this prophecy is yet to be fulfilled, and so it is: by Zion is meant the church in Gospel times, in the latter day glory, which is called upon to awake out of sleep; and this repeated to show what a deep sleep has fallen on her, the danger she was in through it, and the vehemency of the speaker, or the great concern the Lord had for her; and this is the very state and case of the church of Christ now, and the prophecy respects our times, and what follow. There is a general carnal security, and spiritual drowsiness, which has seized the people of God; a non-exercise of grace among them, at least it is not a lively one; a sluggishness to and in duty; a contentment in the external performance of it; an indifference about the cause of Christ, and power of religion; and an unconcernedness about the truths and ordinances of the Gospel, the discipline of Christ's house, and the honour of it; which the enemy takes the advantage of, and sows his tares of false doctrine and worship; wherefore it is high time to "awake" out of sleep, and to "put on strength", or "clothe" ^F5 with it, and do the Lord's will, and work and oppose the enemy. Saints are weak in themselves, but they have strength in Christ, and on him they should wait, to him they should look, and on him they should exercise faith for it; they should put on the whole armour of God, clothe themselves with it, resume courage, pluck up a good heart and spirit, and not fear any difficulties, dangers, and enemies.

Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city ;
another name for the Gospel church, see (Hebrews 12:22) , and which is called "the holy city"; referring to the times in the latter day, when holiness shall more appear and prevail in the churches; when saints shall be built up in their holy faith, and more closely attend to holy ordinances, and walk in an holy conversation and godliness; and especially the New Jerusalem church state will answer to this name, and so it is called, (Revelation 21:2Revelation 21:10) , and when the saints will "put on" their "beautiful garments", as on holy days, and times of rejoicing; their mourning will be over, and all signs of it shall be laid aside; the witnesses will no more prophesy in sackcloth; the marriage of the Lamb will be come; the bride made ready, being clothed with fine linen, clean and white, the righteousness of the saints, the garments of Christ's salvation, and the robe of his righteousness; which are the beautiful garments here meant, which serve for many, and answer all the purposes of a garment; as to cover nakedness, preserve from the inclemency of the weather, keep warm and comfortable, beautify and adorn; and beautiful they are, being all of a piece, large and long, pure and spotless, rich and glorious, and which make those beautiful that wear them; and though, being once on, they are never off again; yet saints sometimes are remiss in their acts of faith in putting them on, to which they are here exhorted; see (Revelation 19:7Revelation 19:8) ,

for henceforth there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and
the unclean ;
this shows that the prophecy cannot be understood of Jerusalem literally, nor of the times of the Babylonish captivity, and deliverance from it, since after this the uncircumcised and the unclean did enter into it, Antiochus Epiphanes, Pompey, and the Romans; but of the mystical Jerusalem, the church of Christ, in the latter day, the spiritual reign of Christ; when the Gentiles, the Papists, meant by the uncircumcised and the unclean, shall no more "come against" them, as the words ^F6 may be rendered, and persecute them; and when there will be no more a mixture of Papists and Protestants, of heretics and orthodox, of hypocrites and saints; and when there will be few or none under a profession but will have the truth of grace in them; when every pot and vessel in Jerusalem will be holiness to the Lord, and the Heathen will be perished out of the land, (Zechariah 14:21) (Psalms 10:16) , and especially this will be true in the personal reign of Christ, in the New Jerusalem church state, into which nothing shall enter that defiles, or makes an abomination, and a lie, (Revelation 21:27) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F5: (Kze yvbl) (endusai thn iscun bou) , Sept.; "induere fortitudine tua", V. L. "induere robur tunm", Vitringa.
• F6: (Kb aby) "non veniet contra te", Gataker; "non perget invadere te", Junius & Tremellius; "non pergent", Piscator.

Shake yourself from the dust
Or "the dust from you" ^F7 , in which she had sat, or rolled herself as a mourner; or where she had been trampled upon by her persecutors and oppressors; but now being delivered from them, as well as from all carnal professors and false teachers, she is called upon to shake herself from the dust of debasement and distress, of false doctrine, superstition, and will worship, in every form and shape, a great deal of which adheres to those churches called reformed. Arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem ;
or "sit up", as it may be rendered; arise from your low estate, from the ground and dust where you are cast;``and sit upon the throne of your glory,'' so the Targum: it denotes the exaltation of the church from a low to a high estate, signified by the ascension of the witnesses to heaven, (Revelation 11:12) .

Some render it, "arise, O captivity"; or "captive" ^F8 ; so the word is used in (Isaiah 49:24Isaiah 49:25) and agrees with what follows: loose yourself from the bands of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion ;
or loose you "the bands off your neck from you"; which seems to denote the people of God in mystical Babylon, a little before its destruction, who will be called out of it, as they afterwards are in this chapter; and to throw off the Romish yoke, and release themselves from that captivity and bondage they have been brought into by the man of sin, who now himself shall be led captive, (Revelation 13:10) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F7: (rpem yrenth) "exute pulverem a te", Sanctius, Gataker.
• F8: (ybv ymwq) "surge captivas", Forerius; so Ben Melech interprets it.

For thus says the Lord, you have sold yourselves for nought, &c.] As Ahab did to work wickedness; as men do freely, and get nothing by it; for there is nothing got in the service of sin, Satan, and antichrist, or by being slaves and vassals to them; not profit, but loss; not pleasure, but pain; not honour, but shame; not liberty, but bondage; not riches and wealth, but poverty and want, which Popery always brings into those countries and people where it obtains.

And you shall be redeemed without money; in like manner as our spiritual and eternal redemption from sin, Satan, and the law, the world, death, and hell, is obtained; not without the price of the precious blood of the Lamb, but without such corruptible things as silver and gold, (1 Peter 1:18 1 Peter 1:19) and without any price paid to those by whom we are held captive, but to God, against whom we have sinned, whose law we have broken, and whose justice must be satisfied; and the blood of Christ is a sufficient price to answer all: hence redemption, though it cost Christ much, is entirely free to us; so will the redemption of the church, from the bondage and slavery of antichrist, be brought about by the power of God undeserved by them; not through their merits, and without any ransom price paid to those who held them captives.

For thus says the Lord God: The Lord confirms what he had before said of redeeming his people without money, who had been sold for nothing, by past instances of his deliverance of them. My people went down beforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; Jacob and his family went down there of their own accord, where they were supplied with food in a time of famine, and settled in a very fruitful part of it; but when they were oppressed, and cried to the Lord, he appeared for them, and delivered them.

And the Assyrian oppressed them without cause; which some understand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who they say was an Assyrian, or so called, because of his power and cruelty; or it being usual to call any enemy of the Jews an Assyrian.

Or rather the words may be rendered, "but the Assyrian". Pharaoh had some pretence for what he did; the Israelites came into his country, he did not carry them captive; they received many benefits and favours there, and were settled in a part of his dominions, so that he might claim them as his subjects, and refuse to dismiss them; but the Assyrians had nothing to do with them; could not make any pretence why they should invade them, and oppress them; and therefore if the Lord had delivered them from the one, he would also deliver them from the other.

This may be understood of the several invasions and captivities by Pul, Tiglathpileser, Shalmaneser, Sennacherib, and even Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; Babylon having been the metropolis of Assyria, and a branch of the Assyrian empire, though now translated to the Chaldeans.

Or the sense is, and the Assyrians also oppressed Israel, as well as the Egyptians, without any just reason, and I delivered them out of their hands; and so I will redeem my church and people out of antichristian bondage and slavery.

Now therefore what have I here, saith the Lord, that my people is taken away for nought ? &c.] Or what do I get by it, that my people should be taken and held in captivity without cause? I am no gainer, but a loser by it, as it afterwards appears; and therefore why should I sit still, and delay the deliverance of my people any longer?

But as I have delivered Israel out of Egypt, and the Jews from Babylon, so will I deliver my people out of mystical Babylon, spiritually called Sodom and Egypt.

They that rule over them cause them to howl, saith the Lord ; they that has carried them captive, and exercised a tyrannical power over them, cause them to howl under their bondage and slavery, as the Israelites formerly in Egypt; wherefore the Lord is moved with compassion to them, and since neither he nor they were gainers, but losers by their captivity, he determines to deliver them:

Or it may be rendered, "they cause its rulers to howl" ^F9 , or his rulers howl; not the common people only, but their governors, civil and ecclesiastical; so Aben Ezra interprets it not of Heathen rulers, but of the great men of Israel:

and my name continually every day is blasphemed ; by ascribing their extent of power and authority, their dominions and conquests, not to the Lord, but to their idols, whom they worship, to such or such a saint; opening their mouths in blasphemy against God, his name and tabernacle, and his people, (Revelation 13:5Revelation 13:6) .

The Targum is, ``and always, all the day, because of the worship of my name, they provoke.''

The Septuagint is, "for you always my name is blasphemed among the Gentiles"; see (Romans 2:24) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F9: (wlylyhy wlvm) "dominatores ejus ululare facient", Montanus; "dominus ipsius ejulant", Junius & Tremellius, Vitringa; "ululant", Piscator; "qui habent potestatem in eum ejulant", Cocceius.