Volume 2 — CHAPTER LV. 1-5.

CHAPTER LV. 1-5.

The Lord exhorts those who are anxious to be saved, to appropriate the blessings of salvation which are so liberally offered, and which, although bestowed without money and price, can alone truly satisfy the soul, vers. 1 and 2. For He is to make with them a covenant of everlasting duration, in which the eternal mercy promised to the family of David is to be realized, ver. 3. David--such is the salvation in store for the Church--is to be a witness, prince, and lawgiver of all the Gentiles who, with joyful readiness, shall unite themselves to Israel.

Ver. 1. "Ho, all ye that thirst, come ye to the water, and ye that have no silver, come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without silver and without price."

The discourse is addressed to the members of the Church pining away in misery. By the water, salvation is denoted, as is not unfrequently the case, comp. chap. xii. 3: "And with joy ye shall draw water out of the wells of salvation," xliv. 3; Ps. lxxxvii. 7, lxxxiv. 7, cvii. 35. The thirsty one is he who stands in need of salvation. To the words: "Ho, all ye that thirst, come ye to the water," the Lord refers in John vii. 37: ἐάν τις διψᾷ ἐρχέσθω πρός με καὶ πινέτω, where the πρός με had been added from ver. 3. It is to be observed that Christ there appropriates to himself what Jehovah is here speaking. Michaelis says: "Christ, in consequence of the highest identity, makes the words of the Father His own." There is an evident reference to the same words in Rev. xxi. 6 also: ἐγὼ τῷ διψῶντι δώσω ἐκ τῆς πηγῆς τοῦ ὕδατος τῆς ζωῆς δωρεάν. Similarly in Rev. xxii. 17: καὶ ὁ διψῶν ἐρχέσθω, ὁ θέλων λαβέτω ὕδωρ ζωῆς δωρεάν. In a somewhat more distant relation to the words before us, but yet undeniably depending upon them, is John iv. 10: σὺ ἂν ᾔτησας αὐτὸν καὶ ἔδωκεν ἄν σοι ὕδωρ ζῶν. Vers. 13, 14: πᾶς ὁ πίνων ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος τούτου διψήσει πάλιν· ὃς δʼ ἂν πίῃ ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος, οὗ ἐγὼ δώσω αὐτῷ οὐ μὴ διψήσῃ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. And so does, in another aspect. Matt. xi. 28: δεῦτε πρός με οἱ κοπιῶντες καὶ πεφορτισμένοι κᾀγὼ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς, which, however, has still nearer points of resemblance to ver. 3; for δεῦτε πρός με corresponds to לכו אלי in that verse; the words κᾀγὼ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς, to: "Your soul shall live" there, but yet in such a way that there is, at the same time, a reference to Jer. vi. 16; the κοπιῶντες καὶ πεφορτισμένοι are the thirsty ones in the verse before us. It is remarkable to see how important this unassuming declaration was to our Lord, and how much He had it at heart. We are thereby urgently called upon, by means of deep and earnest study and meditation, to arrive at the full meaning of the Old Testament, which is everywhere connected with the New Testament, not only by the strong and firm ties of express quotations, but also by the nicest and most tender threads of gentle allusions. Even Matt. v. 6: μακάριοι οἱ πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην comes into a close relation to our passage, as soon as it is recognized that δικαιοσύνην is not the subjective righteousness which is excluded from that context, but rather righteousness as a gift of God, the actual justification, such as takes place in the bestowal of salvation; so that, hence, the righteousness there corresponds with the water here. The subsequent "eat" furnishes the foundation for the fact, that the need of and desire for salvation, is designated by hunger also,--"Come ye, buy and eat." שבר "to break," is used of the appeasing of thirst (comp. Ps. civ. 11), and hunger (comp. Gen. xlii. 19); and corn is called שֶׁבֶר for this reason that it breaks the hunger. The verb never means "to buy" in general, but only such a buying as affords the means of appeasing hunger and thirst. Nor does it, in itself, stand in any relation to corn, except in so far only as the latter is a chief moans of appeasing hunger. This we see not only from Ps. civ. 11, but also from that which here immediately follows, where it is used of the buying of wine and milk. The buying of necessary provisions is commonly designated by the Kal; the selling by the Hiphil. In Gen. xli. 26, the selling too is designated by the Kal. He who causes that one can break or appease, may himself also be designated as he who breaks or appeases. This verb, so very peculiar, and the noun שֶׁבֶר, occur in a certain accumulation, in the history of Joseph only; elsewhere, their occurrence is sporadic only. It is then to the hunger of Israel in ancient times, and to its being appeased by Joseph, that the double שברו alludes; and from this circumstance also the fact is to be explained, that it is first used in reference to food; comp. שברו ואכלו in our verse, with שבר אכל in Gen. xlii. 7-10. Christ is the true Joseph, who puts an end to the hunger and thirst of the people of God, by offering true food and true drink.--The word "eat" suggests substantial food, bread in contrast to the drink by which it is surrounded on both sides; compare John vi. 35: ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς· ὁ ἐρχόμενος πρὸς με οὐ μὴ πεινάσῃ (שברו) καὶ ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ οὐ μὴ διψήσῃ πώποτε. Ver. 55: ἡ γὰρ σάρξ μου ἀληθῶς ἐστι βρῶσις, καὶ τὸ αἷμά μου ἀληθῶς ἐστι πόσις. From the sequel (comp. vers. 6, 7), it appears that the thrice repeated coming and the buying are accomplished by true repentance, the μετάνοια, which is the indispensable condition of the participation in the salvation. In John vi. 35, the words: ὁ ἐρχόμενος πρὸς με are explained by: ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ. Faith is the soul of repentance.--The circumstance that the buying is done without money, intimates that the blessings of salvation are a pure gift of divine grace. These blessings of salvation are first designated by water; afterwards, by wine and milk,--thus approximating to those passages in which the blessings of the Kingdom of Christ appear under the image of a rich repast, to which the members of the Kingdom are invited as guests, Ps. xxii. 26-30; Matt. viii. 11, xxii. 2; Luke xiv. 16; Rev. xix. 9.--Some Rationalistic interpreters understand, by the offered blessings, the salutary admonitions of the Prophet; but decisive against these are vers. 3 and 11, according to which it is not present, but future blessings, not words, but real things which are spoken of, viz., the salvation which is to be brought through Christ. What that is which constitutes the substance of this salvation, we learn from chap. liii. It is the redemption and reconciliation by the Servant of God. Yet we must not, after the manner of several ancient interpreters, limit ourselves to the "evangelical righteousness." On the contrary, the whole fulness of the salvation in Christ is comprehended in it; and according to vers. 4 and 5, this includes the dominion over the world by the Kingdom of God,--its dominion over the Gentile world, and the investiture of its members with the full liberty and glory of the children of God.

Ver. 2. "Wherefore do ye weigh money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken, hearken unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness."

From ver. 3, we see that it is not the Prophet, but the Lord who speaks. "That which is not bread," and "that which satisfieth not," is something which outwardly has the appearance of good and nutritious food, and to obtain which the hungry ones therefore strive, and exert themselves with all their might, but which afterwards shows itself to be food in appearance only, and which has not the power of satisfying. "That which is not bread," is, in the first instance, the imagined salvation which they sought to obtain from idols for much money. This appears from the intentional literal reference to chap. xlvi. 6, where the Prophet reproves the folly of those who, in the face of the living God, "lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith, that he make it a god, work also and fall down." With perfect justice Stier remarks: "Notwithstanding the connection with, and allusion to, the circumstances of that time, the word of the Prophet is to be understood in a general, spiritual way, as a melancholy, bitter lamentation over the general misery, and man's deep-rooted perverseness in running with effort and exertion, after that which is pernicious to the soul, and in serving some Baal better than Jehovah."

Ver. 3. "Incline your ears and come unto me, hear and your soul shall live, and I will grant to you an everlasting covenant, the constant mercies of David."

The introductory words allude, in a graceful manner, to two Messianic psalms, and remind us of the fact, that the prophecy before us moves on the same ground as these psalms. On "incline your ear, and come unto me, hear," comp. Ps. xlv. 11: "Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline thine ear (from the fundamental passage, the Singular is here retained), and forget thy people and thy father's house." On "your soul shall live," comp. Ps. xxii. 27: "The meek shall eat and be satisfied, they shall praise the Lord that seek Him, your heart shall live for ever." Analogous are the references to Ps. lxxii. in chap. xi. The soul dies in care and grief In the words: "I will grant to you," &c., there follow the glad tidings which are to heal the dying hearts. כרת ברית is used of God, even where no reciprocal agreement takes place, but where He simply confers grace; because every grace which He bestows imposes, at the same time, an obligation, and may hence be considered as a covenant. The onesidedness is, in such a case, indicated by the construction with ל, comp. chap. lxi. 8: "And I give them their reward in truth, and I make (grant) to them an everlasting covenant," Jer. xxxii. 40; Ezek. xxxiv. 25; Ps. lxxxix. 4. Since to make a covenant is here identical with granting mercy, אכרתה may also be connected with the subsequent "the constant mercies of David," and there is no necessity for supposing a Zeugma. The everlasting covenant here, is the new covenant in Jer. xxxi. 31-34; for the words "I will make" show that, here too, a new covenant is spoken of. The substance of the covenant to be made is expressed in the words: "The constant mercies of David," &c. By "David," many interpreters here understand the descendant of David, the Messiah, who, in other passages also, e.g., Jer. xxx. 9, bears the name of His type. Even Abenezra refers to the fact that, in ver. 4, the Messiah is necessarily required as the subject. The constant mercies of David are, according to this view--in parallelism with the "everlasting covenant"--the mercies constantly continuing, in contrast to the merely transitory mercies, such as had been those of the first David. According to the opinion of other interpreters, David designates here, as in Hos. iii. 5, the family of David who, in Ps. xviii., and in a series of other psalms, speaks in the name of his whole family. As regards the sense, this explanation arrives at the same result. For, according to it, the Messiah is He in whom the Davidic house attains to its fall destiny, the channel through which the mercies of David flow in upon the Church. For the latter interpretation, however, is decisive the evident reference to the divine promise to David, in 2 Sam. vii., especially vers. 15, 16: "And my mercy shall not depart from him (thy race) ... and constant (נאמן) is thine house, and thy kingdom for ever before thee, thy throne shall be firm for ever;"constant, which, therefore, can never rest until Christ has appeared with His everlasting Kingdom, in which they find their true and full realization. In the expectation of the Messiah from the house of David, the prophecy under consideration goes hand in hand with chap. xi. 1, where the Messiah appears as a twig which proceeds from the cut-down tree of Jesse; and with chap. ix. 6, according to which He sits on the throne of David. This passage alone is fully sufficient against those (Ewald, Umbreit, and others) who advance the strange assertion, that the Prophet had altogether given up the idea of a Messiah from the house of David, and had distributed His property between Cyrus and the prophetic order, or the pious portion of the people. It is of the greatest importance for the explanation of those passages which treat of the Servant of God, and forms a point of union for the Messianic passages of the first and second part. The passage before us is quoted in Acts xiii. 34: ὅτι δὲ ἀνέστησεν αὐτὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν, μηκέτι μέλλοντα ὑποστρέφειν εἰς διαφθοράν οὕτως, εἴρηκεν · ὅτι δώσω ὑμῖν τὰ ὅσια Δαυὶδ τὰ πιστά. Ὅσια Δαυὶδ, sancta Davidis, are the sacred, inviolable, inalienably guaranteed mercies and blessings which have been promised to the house of David. As certainly as these must be granted, so certainly Christ, who was to bring them, could not remain in the power of death.

Ver. 4. "Behold, I give him for a witness to the people, for a prince and lawgiver of the people."

Here, and in ver. 5, we have the expansion of the mercies of David. Their greatness and glory appear from the circumstance that, around his scion, the whole heathen world, which hitherto was hostile and pernicious to the Church of God, will gather. The Suffix in נתתיו can refer only to David, or the family of David. From the connection with chap. liii., it appears that it is in his descendant, the righteous One, to whom the heathen and their kings do homage, that David will attain to the dignity here announced. עד has no other signification than "witness." Every true doctrine bears the character of a witness. The teacher sent by God does not teach on his own authority, α μὴ ἑώρακεν ἐμβατεύων, but only witnesses what he has seen and heard. With a reference to, and in explanation of the passage before us, Christ says to Pilate, in John xviii. 37: "For this end was I born, and for this cause I came into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth." And the passages, Rev. i. 5: "And from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness," and Rev. iii. 14: "These things says the Amen, the faithful and true witness," likewise point back to the passage before us; compare farther, John iii. 11, 32, 33. In John xviii. 37, Rev. i. 5, His being a witness is, just as in the passage before us, connected with His being a King; so that the reference to this passage cannot be at all doubtful. It is intentionally that עד is put at the head. It is intended to intimate that the future dominion of the Davidic dynasty over the heathen world shall be essentially different from that which, in former times, it exercised over some neighbouring people. It is not based upon the power of arms, but upon the power of truth. He in whom the Davidic dynasty is to centre shall connect the prophetic with the regal office; just as already, in the prophecy of the Shiloh, in Gen. xlix. 10, the prophetic office is concealed behind the royal. The contrast to the first David can the less be doubtful, that, while עד is never applied to him, it is just the subsequent נגיד which, in a series of passages, is ascribed to him. In 2 Sam. vi. 21, David himself says that the Lord appointed him to be ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel; in 2 Sam. vii. 8, Nathan says: "I took thee from the sheep-cot to be ruler over my people, over Israel;" comp. 1 Sam. xxv. 30; 2 Sam. v. 5. In those passages, however, David is always spoken of as a ruler over Israel; so that even as regards the נגיד, the second David, the prince of the people, is not only placed on a level with the first David, but is elevate d above him. For the dominion by force which David exercised over some heathen nations, נגיד was the less appropriate designation, inasmuch as it designates the ruler as the chief of his people.

Ver. 5. "Behold, thou shall call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee, because of the Lord thy God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for He adorneth thee."

The words here are addressed to the true Israel, to the exclusion of those souls who are cut off from among their people, compare Ps. lxxiii. 1, where Israel and those that are of a clean heart go hand in hand,--and, in substance, they also were addressed in vers. 1 and 2. For the thirsty ones, who are there called upon to partake of the blessings so liberally offered by the Lord, are just the members of the Church. In connection with that glorification of David, the Church shall invite nations from a great distance, who were hitherto unknown to it, to its communion; and those nations who hitherto scarcely knew by name the Church of God shall joyfully and willingly comply with the invitation; comp. chap. ii. 2. This great change proceeds from the Lord, the Almighty and Holy One, who, as the protector and Covenant-God of His Church, has resolved to glorify it; for He adorneth thee. This glorification consists, according to chap. iv. 2, in the appearance of Christ, the immediate consequence of which is the conversion of the heathen world.

We must now review that exposition by which Rationalism has endeavoured to deprive our passage of its Messianic import,--an attempt in which Grotius led the way. Gesenius, whom Hitzig, Maurer, Ewald, and Knobel follow, translates in vers. 3 and 4: "That I may make with you an everlasting covenant, may show to you constant mercies, as once to David. Behold, I have made him a ruler of the nations, a prince and lawgiver of the nations," and refers both of the verses to the first David. In ver. 5, then, the mercy is to follow which, in some future time, God will bestow upon the whole people, as gloriously as once upon the single David. But this explanation proves itself to be, in every aspect, untenable.^[1]

We are the less entitled to put "mercies like David's" instead of "the mercies of David," that these mercies are, elsewhere also, mentioned in reference to the eternal dominion promised to David for his family; comp. Ps. lxxxix. 2, 50. With the epithet, "constant," these interpreters do not know what to do. Apart from the promise of the eternal dominion of his house, no constant mercies can, in the case of David, be pointed out which would be equally bestowed upon the people, and upon him. Moreover, נאמנים distinctly points back to 2 Sam. vii. Ver. 4 forms, according to this explanation, "a historical reminiscence, most unsuitable in the flow of a prophetic discourse" (Umbreit). But what in itself is quite conclusive is the circumstance, that the first David could not by any possibility be designated as the witness of the Gentile nations. It indeed sounds rather naïve that Knobel, after having endeavoured to explain עב of the "opening up of the law," feels himself obliged to add: "The word does not, however, occur anywhere else in this signification." Nor could David, without farther limitation, be designated as "the prince and lawgiver of the peoples;" and that so much the more that, in ver. 5, there is an invitation to the Gentile world, and that, in ver. 4, too, the Gentile world, in the widest sense, is to be thought of.

After the promise, there follows, in vers. 6–13, the admonition to repentance based upon it. Repent ye, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand, vers. 6, 7. Do not doubt that the Kingdom of heaven is at hand, because it does not seem probable to you. For the counsels of God go beyond all the thoughts of men; and, therefore. He and His work must not be judged by a human measure, vers. 8, 9. With Him, word and deed are inseparably connected, vers. 10, 11. This will be manifested in your redemption and glorification, vers. 12, 13.

^[1] Vitringa already remarked in opposition to it: "This exposition is rather far fetched, and is the weakest of all that can be advanced. I add, that the constancy of the promises given to David does not appear, if we exclude the Kingdom of the Messiah. But are any other promises of constant and eternal blessings, such as are here promised, to be thought of?"

THE PROPHECY--CHAP. LXI. 1–3.

As in chaps. xlix. and l., so here, the Servant of God is introduced as speaking, and announces to the Church what a glorious office the Lord had bestowed upon Him, namely, to deliver them from the misery in which they had hitherto been lying, and to work a wonderful change in their condition. In vers. 4–9, the Prophet takes the word, and describes the salvation to be bestowed by the Servant of God. In vers. 10 and 11, the Church appears, and expresses her joy and gratitude.

According to the Jewish and Rationalistic interpreters, the Prophet himself is supposed to be speaking in vers. 1–3. That opinion was last expressed by Knobel: "The author places before his promises a remembrance of his vocation as a preacher of consolation." In favour of the Messianic interpretation, in which our Lord himself preceded His Church (Luke iv. 17–19), are conclusive, not only the parallel passages, but also the contents of the prophecy itself, which go far beyond the prophetic territory, and the human territory generally. The speaker designates himself as He who is called, not merely to announce the highest blessings to the Church, but actually to grant them. He does not represent himself as a mere Evangelist, but rather as a Saviour.

Ver. 1. "The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach glad tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and opening to them that are bound."

On the words: "The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me," compare chap. xi. 2, xlii. 1. יען always means "because of" The whole succeeding clause stands instead of a noun, so that, in substance, "because of" is equivalent to "because;" but it never can mean "therefore." Nor would the latter signification afford a good sense. The verb משח must, in that case, be subjected to arbitrary explanations. The anointing, whether it occurs as a symbolical action really carried out, or as a mere figure, is always a designation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit; compare 1 Sam. x. 1, xvi. 13, 14, and remarks on Dan. ix. 24. Since, then, the anointing is identical with the bestowal of the Spirit, the words: "because the Lord hath anointed me" must not be isolated, but must be understood in close connection with the subsequent words; so that the sense is: And He hath, for this reason, endowed me with His Spirit, in order that I may preach good tidings, &c. The ענוים are the πρᾳεῖς in Matt. v. 5; עני and ענו are never confounded with one another. The LXX., whom Luke follows, have πτωχοῖς. This rendering does not differ so much from the original text as to make it appear expedient to give up the version at that time received. In the world of sin, the meek are, at the same time, those who are suffering; and the glad tidings which imply a contrast to their misery, show that, here especially, the meek are to be conceived of as sufferers. The ענוים, in contrast to the wicked, appear, in chap. xi. also, as the people of the Messiah.--"The binding up"--Stier remarks--"already passes over into the actual bestowal of that which is announced." The term קרא דרור is taken from the Jubilee year, which was a year of general deliverance for all those who, on account of debts, had become slaves; compare Lev. xxv. 10: "And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land for all the inhabitants thereof; it shall be a jubilee year unto you, and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family." Such a great year of liberty is both to be proclaimed and to be brought about by the Servant of God. For He does not announce any thing which He does not, at the same time, grant, as is clearly shown by ver. 3. His saying is based upon His being and nature; He delivers from the service of the world, and brings into the glorious liberty of the children of God.--Most of the modern interpreters agree with the ancient versions in declaring it to be wrong to divide the word פקחקוח, although this writing is found in most of the manuscripts. The word is, "by its form of reduplication, the most emphatic term for the most complete opening," and designates, "opening, unclosing of every kind, of the eyes, ears, and heart, of every barrier and tie from within, or from without." The LXX., proceeding upon the fact that פקח occurs, with especial frequency, of the opening of the eyes, translate: καὶ τυφλοι̂ς ἀνάβλεψιν. Luke does not wish to set aside this version, because it gives one feature of the sense; and partly also because of the close resemblance to the parallel passage, chap. xlii. 7, which, in this way, was brought in and connected with the passage under consideration. But since outward deliverance and redemption are, in the first instance, to be thought of, when opening to the captives is spoken of, be, in order to complete the sense, adds: ἀποστεῖλαι τεθραυσμένους ἐν ἀφέσει, borrowing the expression from the Alexand. Vers. itself in chap. lviii. 6.

Ver. 2. "To proclaim a year of acceptance to the Lord, and a day of vengeance to our God, to comfort all that mourn."

"A year ... to the Lord" is a year when the Lord shows himself gracious and merciful to His people; compare chap. xlix. 8. The words farther still allude to the Jubilee year; and it is in consequence of this allusion, that we can account for its being a year instead of a time, indefinitely. In that year, a complete restitutio in integrum took place. It was, for all in misery, a year of mercy, a type of the times of refreshing (Acts iii. 19) which the Lord grants to His Church, after it has been exercised by the Cross. Hand in hand with the year of mercy goes the day of vengeance. When the Lord shows mercy to the meek, and to them that mourn, this shall, at the same time, be accompanied by a manifestation of anger against the enemies of God, and of His Church. The one cannot be thought of without the other. The mercy of the Lord towards His people is, among other things also, manifested in His sitting in judgment upon His and their enemies, upon the proud world which afflicts and oppresses them. It is only in this respect that the vengeance here comes into consideration; and it is for this reason also, that the first feature at once reappears in the third verse. The Lord, in quoting the verse, limits himself to the first clause, "His first coming into the world was in the form of meekness," and, therefore, in the meantime, the bright side only is brought out.

Ver. 3. "To put upon them that mourn in Zion,--to give them a crown for ashes, oil of joy for mourning, garment of praise for a spirit of heaviness; and they shall be called terebinths of righteousness, planting of the Lord for glorifying."

It is in this verse that it comes clearly out, that the speaker is not merely to announce the mercy of God, but, at the same time, to bestow it; that the announcement is not an empty one, but one which brings along with it that which is promised; that it is not a Prophet or Evangelist who speaks, but the Saviour. Such a change cannot be effected by merely announcing it. Everywhere, in the second part, it is brought about, not by words, but by deeds. How were it possible that by mere words, as long as the reality stood in glaring contrast to them, the believers could become terebinths of righteousness, a glorious planting of the Lord?--The connection of the two verbs שום and נתן is to be accounted for from the circumstance, that the pronoun suited the first noun only--the ornament for the head. It is only when שום is understood in the sense, "to put upon," or, "to put on," that there is a sufficient reason for adding נתן; but that is not the case when it is taken in the signification "to grant," "to appoint." פאר "crown," and אפר "ashes," are connected with one another, because mourners were accustomed to strew ashes on their heads. The expression "oil of joy," which is to be explained from the custom of people anointing themselves with oil in cases of joy, is taken from Ps. xlv. 8. As the Messiah there appears as the possessor of the oil of joy, so, here, He appears as the bestower. In chap. lv. 3, there is likewise an allusion to Ps. xlv., and along with it, to Ps. xxii. The "spirit of heaviness" refers to chap. xlii. 3. The fact that, instead of it, they receive "garments of praise," intimates that they shall be altogether clothed with praise, songs of praise for the divine goodness which manifested itself in them; on the garments as symbols of the condition, compare remarks on Rev. vii. 14. The "righteousness" which is appropriate to the spiritual terebinths, is the actual justification, which the Lord grants to His people at the appearance of the Messiah. There is in it an allusion to the planting of paradise; God now prepares for himself a new paradisaical plantation, consisting of living trees.