Isaiah 61:2

To proclaim; to declare, as it respects the Jews, that their liberty is at hand. The acceptable year, viz. the happy age of God's grace, either which will be grateful and welcome news to them, or acceptable to God, a time wherein it pleaseth him to favour them; but this must be understood of a further extent than to Babylon, and rather unto mankind in Jesus Christ, Galatians 4:4 Titus 3:4, called a time of God's good-will in that angelical song, Luke 2:14, on the account of those good tidings which the angel brought, Isaiah 61:10,11; called so possibly from the arbitrariness and good pleasure of God, having no respect to any satisfaction from man. Year; not precisely, as if Christ preached but one year, the mistake of some ancients, mentioned and refuted by Irenaeus, lib. 2. ch. 38; but for time indefinitely, and may include the whole time of preaching the gospel; see Romans 10:15; which I take to be the meaning of that now, 2 Corinthians 6:2, and probably hath a pertinent allusion to the year of jubilee, which was a general release proclaimed by sound of trumpet, which relates also here to the word proclaiming, Leviticus 25:10. The day of vengeance, viz. on Babylon, it being necessary, that where God will deliver his people, he should take vengeance on their enemies; but mystically and principally on the enemies of his church, and the spiritual ones chiefly, viz. Satan, sin, and death. That mourn; either by reason of their sufferings, or of their sins, Matthew 11:28; or the miseries of Zion. See Poole on "Isaiah 57:18".