Isaiah 61:3

ZION’S MOURNERS COMFORTED

Isaiah 61:3. To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, &c.

I. THE CHRISTIAN IN HIS SPIRITUAL GRIEFS AND DEPRESSION. Two translations—mourn in Zion. mourn for it. Take both.

1. They mourn in Zion (Matthew 5:4). They are real mourners. The images denote intense sorrow, as for a calamity that is hopeless.

(1) They mourn the corruption of their own nature, &c. This is always described as the fruit of implanted grace.
(2) They mourn over the pressure of their sorrows. The captives did.
(3) Over delay of their hopes.
2. They mourn for Zion. Her disorders and divisions. The corruption of her doctrines. The neglect of her ordinances. The inconsistency of many of her professed friends. The comparative smallness of her numbers, &c.

II. THE SAVIOUR IN HIS GRACE. To appoint consolation, &c.

1. A present fulfilment in the consolations of His Word and Spirit.

2. A future fulfilment in the fulness of the eternal glory.

III. THE CHURCH IN HER GLORY.

1. How she appears to others. That they might be called trees of righteousness. Here is a rolling off of disgrace, and a recognition of her claims to be the joy and beauty of the earth (Ezekiel 16:10).

2. How she expresses her emotions (Isaiah 61:10).

3. What a revenue of honour she brings to God—“that He might be glorified.”—Samuel Thodey.

TREES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Isaiah 61:3. Trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, &c.

I. CHRISTIANS UNDER THE FIGURE OF TREES. This suggests three things—

1. Life. The tree differs from many things in a landscape, in that it has the principle of life. The rock, &c., is sublime, but it has no life. But the tree grows from feebleness to strength, and the children’s children of those who plucked its leaves repose under its shade. In like manner, all men spiritually dead except the Christian. “He” only “who hath the Son hath life.”

2. Beauty. How sterile any landscape appears from which all trees are absent, and how much enriched is any scene by their presence! The world was equally devoid of what was lovely and great in character until Christianity came. Even the ungodly acknowledge that a consistent Christian is lovely. Men of old exclaimed, “Behold how they love each other!”

3. Utility. The tree which the prophet had in view (for the term is specific) was the terebinth, or what has been called the oriental oak—a tree as famous for its important uses, as for the majesty of its form. It is not merely an appeal to the eye which a Christian makes. Let a single Christian live consistently in a family, and that family is the better for him; let there be in a country a body of consistent and holy followers of Christ, and the manner and usages of that country will become quickly improved. It is to the Christian the world has to look for the means of its renovation. Philosophy and science and literature have failed: the Cross alone can be successful.

II. THE LORD AS THE CREATOR OF THE CHRISTIAN EXCELLENCES.

1. He gave him spiritual life. We were first planted in Paradise, but sin outrooted us, and we lay withering and dying, ready to be cast into the fire; nor could any human, angelic, or other finite power restore us. God sent His only Son to die that we might live. He planted us in Him, and gave us new and eternal life.

2. He supplies him with the means of growth. When He has taken the tree and planted it in His pleasant places, He does not forget to cultivate it. What stores of instruction in the Bible; what direction and guidance in Providence; what variety of trials and temptations, suited to his changing state, are supplied! (John 10:10; John 15:2).

III. THE GREAT DESIGN AND END OF OUR BEING MADE TREES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.

1. God’s glory and our spiritual welfare go together. The beauty of the flower, &c., are the glory of the gardener.
2. God’s glory is the highest end which any created being can serve.—Pulpit Outlines, 1852, p. 63, &c.

I. The plant: a tree of righteousness. II. The means by which it was produced: Jehovah’s husbandry. III. The purpose of this generous and skilful husbandry: “That He might be glorified.”—Geo. Bowden: The Methodist Recorder, June 18, 1869.

Isaiah 61:4. I. The land flourishes. II. The social condition of the people is prosperous. III. The people themselves are holy and happy. IV. The memory of their sorrows is wiped away for ever.—Dr. Lyth.