Isaiah 35:1-10 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.… Here are three things to be considered. I. THE WILDERNESS ITSELF. The world before the appearance of the Gospel was dry as a wilderness, being destitute of God's holy Spirit, which is the water of life, and the immediate cause of all righteousness. The heathen were without the good Spirit, they were exposed to the assaults of evil spirits, whose employment it is to go "to and fro in the earth" as wild beasts in a wilderness, seeking whom they may devour. And it has ever been the way of wicked men, agitated by those furious passions implanted in their nature, to become beasts of prey to one another, biting and devouring one another. But the beast which is noxious and cursed above all others is the serpent, in which we have the most perfect representation of the devil himself, and of all his children, who are called the seed of the serpent. In a place infested with such inhabitants there could be no real comfort; but on the contrary vexation, misery, disappointment, and despair. The evil that prevails among men who live without God renders this world a miserable place. II. THE CHANGE THAT WAS TO BE WROUGHT UPON IT. The knowledge of Christ engrafted in the hearts of men, soon made them green and fruitful in righteousness, and they abounded in good works, even to the astonishment of their enemies. III. THE CAUSE OF THIS BLESSED CHANGE. "They shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God." The glory of the natural world is the sun, whose presence it is that makes the day so superior to the night. But above all, the change of the winter into the spring, shows the power and excellency of this marvellous instrument. Therefore Christ, who performs the same things in the kingdom of grace as the sun doth in nature, is all respects the Sun of Righteousness. (W. Jones, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.WEB: The wilderness and the dry land will be glad. The desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose. |
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