Isaiah 58:8

Let them look which way they will, behind them or before them; let them look backward or forward; they see themselves safe, and find themselves easy and quiet from the fear of evil. And observe what it is that is their defence; it is their righteousness, and the glory of the Lord, that is, as some suppose, Christ; for it is by him that we are justified, and God is glorified.

Righteousness - The reward of thy righteousness. Before thee - As the morning-star goes before the sun. The glory - His glorious power and providence.

Then shall thy light break forth as the morning,.... Through thick clouds, or the darkness of the night, suddenly, swiftly, irresistibly, and increase more and more, till it is perfect day.

And thine health shall spring forth speedily “And thy wounds shall speedily be healed over” - Et cicatrix vulneris tui cito obducetur “And the scar of thy wounds shall be speedily removed.” Aquila’s Version, as reported by Jerome, with which agrees that of the Chaldee. The glory “And the glory” - Sixteen MSS. (five ancient) of Dr. Kennicott’s, and the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate add the conjunction ו vau, וכבוד vechabod.

Hence restoration from all past calamities. go before thee--Thy conformity to the divine covenant acts as a leader, conducting thee to peace and prosperity. glory . . . reward--like the pillar of cloud and fire, the symbol of God's "glory," which went behind Israel, separating them from their Egyptian pursuers (Isa 52:12;

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

THE Church of God is an army marching through an enemy's territory. She can never reckon upon a moment's peace. If she were of the world, the world would love its own, but because true saints are not of the world, but Christ has chosen them out of the world, therefore the world hates them.

THE Church of God is an army marching through an enemy's territory. She can never reckon upon a moment's peace. If she were of the world, the world would love its own, but because true saints are not of the world, but Christ has chosen them out of the world, therefore the world hates them. As the Amalekites suddenly fell upon the children of Israel, unprovoked and without giving any warning of their hostile intention, so, not only in times of persecution, but in these apparently softer days when the world does not use the stake and the sword, at all seasons the world is ready to pounce upon the Church of God and to call in its grand ally, the devil, to overthrow and destroy, as far as possible, the militant hosts of Israel! Every Christian, then, must be a soldier and take his share in the battles of the Cross. We must not look upon our life as being a pleasure-journey through a friendly land, but as a march—a march through the very midst of foes who will dispute every foot of our way! Now, if we thus view the Church of God as an army, it is consolatory to know that we have a vanguard—My righteousness shall go before you." We take our Lord Jesus Christ to be "the Lord our righteousness." He is the Forerunner and He has gone before us, even through the River of Death and up to the skies, that He may prepare a place for all those who have enlisted under His standard. Our text, however, speaks not of the vanguard, but of the "rereward." There is always danger there, and it is comforting to the saints to behold so glorious a shield borne in their rear by so mighty an arm—"The Glory of the Lord shall be your rereward." It is but little I have to say to you this evening, but may God make that little profitable to you! We will, first of all, dwell upon the rereward and enquire what it is which is here intended.

Then shall thy light - (See the notes at Isa 44:7). The idea here is, that if they were faithful in the discharge of their duty to God, he would bless them with abundant prosperity (compare Job 11:17). The image is, that such prosperity would come on the people like the spreading light of the morning. And thine health - Lowth and Noyes render this, ‘And thy wounds shall be speedily healed over.’ The authority on which Lowth relies, is the version of Aquila as reported by Jerome, and the Chaldee. The Hebrew word used here, (ארוּכה 'ărûkâh), means properly “a long bandage” (from ארך 'ârak, “to make long”), such as is applied by surgeons to heal a wound (compare the notes at Isa 1:6). It is then used to denote the healing which is secured by the application of the bandage; and figuratively here means their restoration from all the calamities which had been inflicted on the nation. The word rendered ‘spring forth’ (from צמח tsâmach) properly relates to the manner in which plants germinate (compare the notes at Isa 42:9). Here the sense is, that if they would return to God, they would be delivered from the calamities which their crimes had brought on them, and that peace and prosperity would again visit the nation. And thy righteousness shall go before thee - Shall be thy leader - as an army is conducted. The idea is that their conformity to the divine laws would serve the purpose of a leader to conduct them in the ways of peace, happiness, and prosperity. The glory of the Lord - The allusion here is doubtless to the mode in which the children of Israel came out of Egypt (see the notes at Isa 6:5). Shall be thy rere-ward - Margin, ‘Shall gather thee up.’ That is, shall bring up the rear (see the notes at Isa 52:12).