So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee. So the redeemed of the LORDThe term "redeemed" in Hebrew is "גָּאַל" (ga'al), which means to reclaim or to buy back. This word is rich with the imagery of liberation and deliverance, often used in the context of freeing someone from slavery or bondage. In the biblical narrative, it evokes the Exodus, where God redeemed Israel from Egypt. The "redeemed of the LORD" refers to those whom God has delivered from spiritual captivity, symbolizing the ultimate redemption through Christ. This phrase assures believers of their secure position in God's salvation plan, emphasizing His sovereignty and grace. will return
The Hebrew word for "return" is "שׁוּב" (shuv), which means to turn back or restore. This word is often used in the context of repentance and restoration. It signifies not just a physical return but a spiritual renewal and a coming back to God. Historically, it points to the return of the Israelites from Babylonian exile, but prophetically, it speaks to the ultimate return to God through Christ, highlighting the theme of restoration and reconciliation with God. and enter Zion
"Zion" is a term that originally referred to the hill upon which Jerusalem was built, but it came to symbolize the city itself and, more broadly, the people of God. Entering Zion signifies entering into the presence of God, a place of divine favor and blessing. In the New Testament context, Zion represents the heavenly Jerusalem, the eternal dwelling place of God’s people. This phrase assures believers of their future hope and eternal inheritance in God's kingdom. with singing
Singing is a universal expression of joy and celebration. In the Hebrew culture, singing was an integral part of worship and celebration, often accompanying victories and divine deliverance. This phrase suggests a spontaneous outburst of joy and gratitude from the redeemed, reflecting the deep-seated joy of salvation and the fulfillment of God's promises. crowned with everlasting joy
The imagery of being "crowned" suggests honor and victory. "Everlasting joy" indicates a joy that is not temporary but eternal, rooted in the eternal nature of God’s salvation. This joy is a gift from God, a result of His redemptive work, and it stands in contrast to the fleeting pleasures of the world. It is a joy that transcends circumstances, grounded in the assurance of God’s eternal promises. Gladness and joy will overtake them
The phrase "overtake them" suggests an overwhelming abundance. Gladness and joy are not just present but are so abundant that they envelop the redeemed. This reflects the overflowing nature of God’s blessings and the transformative power of His salvation. It speaks to the complete and total satisfaction found in God, where His presence fills every aspect of life with joy. and sorrow and sighing will flee
"Sorrow and sighing" represent the pain and suffering of the present world. The promise that they "will flee" is a powerful assurance of the complete eradication of suffering in the presence of God. This echoes the eschatological hope found in Revelation, where God wipes away every tear. It is a promise of ultimate healing and restoration, where the former things have passed away, and all things are made new in Christ. Persons / Places / Events 1. The Redeemed of the LORDThis refers to those whom God has delivered or saved. In the context of Isaiah, it often points to the Israelites who are promised deliverance from exile, but it also has a broader application to all believers who are redeemed by God. 2. ZionA term that originally referred to a specific hill in Jerusalem, Zion came to symbolize the city itself and, more broadly, the people of God. It represents a place of divine presence and ultimate restoration. 3. Singing and JoyThese are expressions of worship and celebration. In the context of Isaiah, they signify the response of the redeemed to God's salvation and the fulfillment of His promises. 4. Sorrow and SighingThese represent the suffering and lamentation experienced by the people, which will be replaced by joy and gladness upon their return to Zion. Teaching Points The Certainty of RedemptionBelievers can have confidence in God's promise of redemption. Just as the Israelites were assured of their return to Zion, Christians are assured of their ultimate salvation through Christ. The Joy of SalvationThe joy and gladness described in Isaiah 51:11 should characterize the life of a believer. This joy is not dependent on circumstances but is rooted in the assurance of God's promises. Transformation of SorrowThe promise that sorrow and sighing will flee is a powerful reminder that God is in the business of transforming our pain into joy. This transformation is both a present reality and a future hope. Worship as a ResponseThe singing and joy of the redeemed highlight the importance of worship as a response to God's work in our lives. Worship is both an expression of gratitude and a declaration of faith. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the promise of redemption in Isaiah 51:11 encourage you in your current circumstances? 2. In what ways can you experience and express the joy of salvation in your daily life? 3. How does the imagery of entering Zion with singing relate to your understanding of worship? 4. What are some areas of sorrow in your life that you can bring before God, trusting Him for transformation? 5. How do the themes of redemption and joy in Isaiah 51:11 connect with the hope of the new creation described in Revelation 21? Connections to Other Scriptures Psalm 126This psalm echoes the theme of joy and restoration as the Israelites return from captivity, highlighting the transformative power of God's deliverance. Revelation 21The imagery of sorrow and sighing fleeing away connects to the vision of the new heaven and new earth, where God wipes away every tear, and there is no more death or mourning. Hebrews 12The concept of entering Zion with joy can be related to the spiritual journey of believers who are called to approach the heavenly Jerusalem with reverence and awe. People Isaiah, Rahab, SarahPlaces Jerusalem, Rahab, Tigris-Euphrates Region, ZionTopics Age-during, Attain, Crown, Delight, Enter, Eternal, Everlasting, Fled, Flee, Free, Gladness, Grief, Heads, Joy, Joyful, Mourning, Obtain, Overtake, Ransomed, Redeemed, Return, Shouting, Sighing, Singing, Songs, Sorrow, Sounds, Theirs, Turn, ZionDictionary of Bible Themes Isaiah 51:11 1140 God, the eternal
1315 God, as redeemer
4010 creation, renewal
5157 head
5841 ecstasy
5844 emotions
5970 unhappiness
6714 ransom
7212 exile
8288 joy, of Israel
9412 heaven, worship and service
9414 heaven, community of redeemed Isaiah 51:9-11 5854 experience, of God Library August 25 Morning
Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.--ISA 51:1. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity.--None eye pitied thee but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the loathing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born. And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee, Live. He brought me up . . . out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily PathJanuary 26. "I Called Him Alone and Blessed Him" (Isa. Li. 2).
"I called him alone and blessed him" (Isa. li. 2). When we were in the East we noticed the beautiful process of raising rice. The rice is sown on a morass of mud and water, ploughed up by great buffaloes, and after a few weeks it springs up and appears above the water with its beautiful pale green shoots. The seed has been sown very thickly and the plants are clustered together in great numbers, so that you can pull up a score at a single handful. But now comes the process of transplanting. He first …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth The Awakening of Zion
'Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old.'--ISAIAH li. 9. 'Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion.'--ISAIAH lii. 1. Both these verses are, I think, to be regarded as spoken by one voice, that of the Servant of the Lord. His majestic figure, wrapped in a light veil of obscurity, fills the eye in all these later prophecies of Isaiah. It is sometimes clothed with divine power, sometimes girded with the towel of human weakness, sometimes …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Hearken and Look; Or, Encouragement for Believers
THE second verse contains my actual text. It is the argument by which faith is led to look for the blessings promised in the third verse. It is habitual with some persons to spy out the dark side of every question or fact: they fix their eyes upon the "waste places," and they study them till they know every ruin, and are familiar with the dragons and the owls. They sigh most dolorously that the former times were better than these, and that we have fallen upon most degenerate days. They speak of "shooting …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 27: 1881 A Prospect of Revival
THE pedigree of God's chosen nation Israel may be traced back to one man and one woman--to Abraham and Sarah. Both of them were well stricken in years when the Lord called them, yet, in the fulfilment of his promise, he built up of their seed a great nation, which, for number, was comparable to the stars of heaven. Take heart, brethren; these things are written for our example and for our encouragement. His Church can never sink to so low an ebb that he cannot soon build her up again, nor in our …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 62: 1916 "Sing, O Heavens; and be Joyful, O Earth; for the Lord Hath Comforted his People. " -- Isaiah 49:13.
"For the Lord shall comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places; and He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody." -- Isaiah 51:3. "Sing, O Heavens; and be joyful, O Earth; for the Lord hath comforted his people." -- Isaiah 49:13. A living, loving, lasting word, My listening ear believing heard, While bending down in prayer; Like a sweet breeze that none can stay, It passed …
Miss A. L. Waring—Hymns and Meditations Of Inward Silence
Of Inward Silence "The Lord is in His Holy Temple, let all the earth keep silence before him" (Hab. ii. 20). Inward silence is absolutely indispensable, because the Word is essential and eternal, and necessarily requires dispositions in the soul in some degree correspondent to His nature, as a capacity for the reception of Himself. Hearing is a sense formed to receive sounds, and is rather passive than active, admitting, but not communicating sensation; and if we would hear, we must lend the ear …
Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of Prayer Of Rest in the Presence of God --Its Fruits --Inward Silence --God Commands it --Outward Silence.
The soul, being brought to this place, needs no other preparation than that of repose: for the presence of God during the day, which is the great result of prayer, or rather prayer itself, begins to be intuitive and almost continual. The soul is conscious of a deep inward happiness, and feels that God is in it more truly than it is in itself. It has only one thing to do in order to find God, which is to retire within itself. As soon as the eyes are closed, it finds itself in prayer. It is astonished …
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents Lii. Manna. Exodus xvi. 4.
I.--Manna like salvation, because undeserved. The people murmured at the very first difficulty. If they had been grateful they would have said, "The God who brought us out of Egypt, and through the Red Sea, will not allow us to die of hunger." But instead of this they accused Moses of being a murderer. And in answer to this God said, "I will rain bread from heaven." What an illustration of Romans v. 8. II.--Manna like salvation, because it saved the people from perishing. Nothing else would …
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread Early Battles
Six months of joyous service amongst the Welsh miners was cut short by a telegram announcing to the sisters the serious illness of Mrs. Lee. Taking the news to their Divisional Commander, they were instructed to Headquarters. It was found that the illness was due to shock. The income from investments of the little estate left by Mr. Lee had dwindled; it now had disappeared altogether. Captain Lucy faced the matter with her usual practical decision. 'Mother, darling, there are two ways out. Either …
Minnie L. Carpenter—The Angel Adjutant of "Twice Born Men" Stedfastness in the Old Paths.
"Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls."--Jer. vi. 16. Reverence for the old paths is a chief Christian duty. We look to the future indeed with hope; yet this need not stand in the way of our dwelling on the past days of the Church with affection and deference. This is the feeling of our own Church, as continually expressed in the Prayer Book;--not to slight what has gone before, …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII An Appendix to the Beatitudes
His commandments are not grievous 1 John 5:3 You have seen what Christ calls for poverty of spirit, pureness of heart, meekness, mercifulness, cheerfulness in suffering persecution, etc. Now that none may hesitate or be troubled at these commands of Christ, I thought good (as a closure to the former discourse) to take off the surmises and prejudices in men's spirits by this sweet, mollifying Scripture, His commandments are not grievous.' The censuring world objects against religion that it is difficult …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12 Ci. Foretelling his Passion. Rebuking Ambition.
(Peræa, or Judæa, Near the Jordan.) ^A Matt. XX. 17-28; ^B Mark X. 32-45; ^C Luke XVIII. 31-34. ^b 32 And they were on the way, going up to Jerusalem [Dean Mansel sees in these words an evidence that Jesus had just crossed the Jordan and was beginning the actual ascent up to Jerusalem. If so, he was in Judæa. But such a construction strains the language. Jesus had been going up to Jerusalem ever since he started in Galilee, and he may now have still be in Peræa. The parable …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel The Work of Jesus Christ as an Advocate,
CLEARLY EXPLAINED, AND LARGELY IMPROVED, FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL BELIEVERS. 1 John 2:1--"And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." By JOHN BUNYAN, Author of "The Pilgrim's Progress." London: Printed for Dorman Newman, at the King's Arms, in the Poultry, 1689. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. This is one of the most interesting of Bunyan's treatises, to edit which required the Bible at my right hand, and a law dictionary on my left. It was very frequently republished; …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Thirdly, for Thy Actions.
1. Do no evil, though thou mightest; for God will not suffer the least sin, without bitter repentance, to escape unpunished. Leave not undone any good that thou canst. But do nothing without a calling, nor anything in thy calling, till thou hast first taken counsel at God's word (1 Sam. xxx. 8) of its lawfulness, and pray for his blessings upon thy endeavour; and then do it in the name of God, with cheerfulness of heart, committing the success to him, in whose power it is to bless with his grace …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety Death Swallowed up in victory
Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory! D eath, simply considered, is no more than the cessation of life --that which was once living, lives no longer. But it has been the general, perhaps the universal custom of mankind, to personify it. Imagination gives death a formidable appearance, arms it with a dart, sting or scythe, and represents it as an active, inexorable and invincible reality. In this view death is a great devourer; with his iron tongue …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2 Isaiah
CHAPTERS I-XXXIX Isaiah is the most regal of the prophets. His words and thoughts are those of a man whose eyes had seen the King, vi. 5. The times in which he lived were big with political problems, which he met as a statesman who saw the large meaning of events, and as a prophet who read a divine purpose in history. Unlike his younger contemporary Micah, he was, in all probability, an aristocrat; and during his long ministry (740-701 B.C., possibly, but not probably later) he bore testimony, as …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Isaiah 51:11 NIVIsaiah 51:11 NLTIsaiah 51:11 ESVIsaiah 51:11 NASBIsaiah 51:11 KJV
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