Isaiah 49:12

Behold, these shall come from far

Gathered from afar

Whatever bearing this prophecy may have had upon the time of Isaiah, or the time immediately after him, it has an important bearing on the time of the Messiah, and the course of His kingdom.

The sentiment is that the redeemed Church of Christ shall come from every part of the earth. This sentiment is in accordance with--

I. THE GENIUS OF THE GOSPEL.

II. THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY.

III. THE COURSE OF EVENTS. Conclusion--

1. This subject recognises the brotherhood of man.

2. It imposes a stupendous obligation on the Church. (J. Rawlinson.)

The land of Sinim

The land of Sinim

As coming after the reference to the west, it is naturally looked for in the far east, and so has very generally been understood of the Chinese. The common designation of China among nations of South Asia outside of China is Tsin, and in the form of Sin this name had been introduced among the Arabians and Syrians. It is also observed that the Chinese dynasty of Tsin began to reign about B.C. 255. For ten centuries before Christ the Chinese had commercial relations with the west. (J. Macpherson, M. A.)

The land of Sinim

(the Sinites):--The last word is a hopeless enigma As the only proper name in the verse the writer must have had some special reason for mentioning it; and the only reason that can be plausibly imagined is that Sinim lay on the utmost limit of his geographical horizon. This would exclude two suggested identifications:

(1) the Canaanite Sinites of Genesis 10:17, and

(2) Sin (Pelusium), on the nearest border of Egypt. (Prof. J. Skinner, D. D.)