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60. Glory of Zion

¹ “Arise, shine, for your light has come,
   and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
² See, darkness covers the earth
   and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the LORD rises upon you
   and his glory appears over you.
³ Nations will come to your light,
   and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

    ⁴ “Lift up your eyes and look about you:
   All assemble and come to you;
your sons come from afar,
   and your daughters are carried on the hip.
⁵ Then you will look and be radiant,
   your heart will throb and swell with joy;
the wealth on the seas will be brought to you,
   to you the riches of the nations will come.
⁶ Herds of camels will cover your land,
   young camels of Midian and Ephah.
And all from Sheba will come,
   bearing gold and incense
   and proclaiming the praise of the LORD.
⁷ All Kedar’s flocks will be gathered to you,
   the rams of Nebaioth will serve you;
they will be accepted as offerings on my altar,
   and I will adorn my glorious temple.

    ⁸ “Who are these that fly along like clouds,
   like doves to their nests?
⁹ Surely the islands look to me;
   in the lead are the ships of Tarshish, Or the trading ships
bringing your children from afar,
   with their silver and gold,
to the honor of the LORD your God,
   the Holy One of Israel,
   for he has endowed you with splendor.

    ¹⁰ “Foreigners will rebuild your walls,
   and their kings will serve you.
Though in anger I struck you,
   in favor I will show you compassion.
¹¹ Your gates will always stand open,
   they will never be shut, day or night,
so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations—
   their kings led in triumphal procession.
¹² For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish;
   it will be utterly ruined.

    ¹³ “The glory of Lebanon will come to you,
   the juniper, the fir and the cypress together,
to adorn my sanctuary;
   and I will glorify the place for my feet.
¹⁴ The children of your oppressors will come bowing before you;
   all who despise you will bow down at your feet
and will call you the City of the LORD,
   Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

    ¹⁵ “Although you have been forsaken and hated,
   with no one traveling through,
I will make you the everlasting pride
   and the joy of all generations.
¹⁶ You will drink the milk of nations
   and be nursed at royal breasts.
Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior,
   your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
¹⁷ Instead of bronze I will bring you gold,
   and silver in place of iron.
Instead of wood I will bring you bronze,
   and iron in place of stones.
I will make peace your governor
   and well-being your ruler.
¹⁸ No longer will violence be heard in your land,
   nor ruin or destruction within your borders,
but you will call your walls Salvation
   and your gates Praise.
¹⁹ The sun will no more be your light by day,
   nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the LORD will be your everlasting light,
   and your God will be your glory.
²⁰ Your sun will never set again,
   and your moon will wane no more;
the LORD will be your everlasting light,
   and your days of sorrow will end.
²¹ Then all your people will be righteous
   and they will possess the land forever.
They are the shoot I have planted,
   the work of my hands,
   for the display of my splendor.
²² The least of you will become a thousand,
   the smallest a mighty nation.
I am the LORD;
   in its time I will do this swiftly.”

3. And the Gentiles shall walk. He confirms what we have already said, that there is no other light of men but when the Lord shines on them by his word. All indeed acknowledge this; but they do not set so high a value as they ought on this benefit, and imagine it to be something of an ordinary kind, which naturally belongs to all men. But he shows that this grace is supernatural, and therefore it ought to be distinguished from nature; which is clearly shown by the repetition of the words upon thee, in the preceding verse.

First, then, we ought to believe that this benefit comes from God alone; and secondly, that all are not indiscriminately partakers of it, but only the elect, on whom the Lord shines by undeserved favor, so as to take them out of the ordinary rank of men. This is done by Christ, who is called “the Sun of Righteousness,” because we are enlightened as if by his rays. (Malachi 4:2) Besides, the Prophet declares that this favor shall be spread far and wide by the Jews; which is also intimated by the words of the covenant,

“In thy seed shall all nations be blessed.” (Genesis 22:18)

To thy brightness. If one nation only had enjoyed the light, it would have been of no advantage to the rest; but, so far as the doctrine of the Gospel has been spread throughout the whole world, Judea has held out the light to the Gentiles formerly blinded, in order to point out the way. By making the brightness peculiar to a single nation, he shows that in no other way could the world be enlightened, or come to share in this benefit, than by seeking light from that word which proceeded from the Jews, and was heard at Jerusalem, where the lamp of the Lord was kindled, and where the Sun of Righteousness arose, that from it he might diffuse his light to all the ends of the earth, as we have formerly seen, “Out of Zion shall go forth the Law.” (Isaiah 2:3) There is, therefore, no light but from the doctrine of the prophets; so that they who withdraw from it falsely boast of walking in the light.

And kings to the brightness of thy rising. He alludes to the dawn; for, as the morningstar begins the day in one quarter only of heaven, and immediately the sun enlightens the whole world, so the daybreak was first in Judea, from which the light arose and was afterwards diffused throughout the whole world; for there is no corner of the earth which the Lord has not enlightened by this light. He mentions “kings,” that they might not imagine that none but the common people would come to this light, but princes and nobles, who in other respects are greatly delighted with their high rank. But now he confers on the Church the very highest honor, that she shines with such brightness as to attract to herself nations and princes. He calls it “the light” of the Church; not that she has any light from herself, but borrows it from Christ, as the moon borrows from the sun.