521 Awake , awake , Clothe yourself in your strength , O Zion ; Clothe yourself in your beautiful garments , O Jerusalem , the holy city ; For the uncircumcised and the unclean Will no longer e come into you. 2 Shake yourself from the dust , rise up, O captive Jerusalem ; Loose yourself from the chains around your neck , O captive daughter of Zion . 3 For thus says the Lord , "You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed without money ." 4 For thus says the Lord GOD , "My people went down at the first into Egypt to reside there ; then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause . 5 "Now therefore, what do I have here ," declares the Lord , "seeing that My people have been taken away without cause ?" Again the Lord declares , "Those who rule over them howl , and My name is continually blasphemed all day long. 6 "Therefore My people shall know My name ; therefore in that day I am the one who is speaking , 'Here I am.' "
7 How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news , Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness , Who announces salvation , And says to Zion , "Your God reigns !" 8 Listen ! Your watchmen lift up their voices , They shout joyfully together ; For they will see with their own eyes When the Lord restores Zion . 9 Break forth , shout joyfully together , You waste places of Jerusalem ; For the Lord has comforted His people , He has redeemed Jerusalem . 10 The Lord has bared His holy arm In the sight of all the nations , That all the ends of the earth may see The salvation of our God . 11 Depart , depart , go out from there , Touch nothing unclean ; Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, You who carry the vessels of the Lord . 12 But you will not go out in haste , Nor will you go as fugitives ; For the Lord will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Isaiah 52:1-12
Commentary on Isaiah 52:1-12
(Read Isaiah 52:1-12)
The gospel proclaims liberty to those bound with fears. Let those weary and heavy laden under the burden of sin, find relief in Christ, shake themselves from the dust of their doubts and fears, and loose themselves from those bands. The price paid by the Redeemer for our salvation, was not silver or gold, or corruptible things, but his own precious blood. Considering the freeness of this salvation, and how hurtful to temporal comfort sins are, we shall more value the redemption which is in Christ. Do we seek victory over every sin, recollecting that the glory of God requires holiness in every follower of Christ? The good news is, that the Lord Jesus reigns. Christ himself brought these tidings first. His ministers proclaim these good tidings: keeping themselves clean from the pollutions of the world, they are beautiful to those to whom they are sent. Zion's watchmen could scarcely discern any thing of God's favour through the dark cloud of their afflictions; but now the cloud is scattered, they shall plainly see the performance. Zion's waste places shall then rejoice; all the world will have the benefit. This is applied to our salvation by Christ. Babylon is no place for Israelites. And it is a call to all in the bondage of sin and Satan, to use the liberty Christ has proclaimed. They were to go with diligent haste, not to lose time nor linger; but they were not to go with distrustful haste. Those in the way of duty, are under God's special protection; and he that believes this, will not hasten for fear.