Isaiah 54:11-12

O, thou afflicted, &c.— O, thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, void of comfort; behold, I range thy stones in paint, and found thee upon sapphires: Isaiah 54:12. And I make thy turrets of rubies, and thy gates of carbuncles, and the whole circuit of thy walls of precious stones. The Almighty preserver and protector of the church, here, in elegantly figurative terms, proceeds to assure her of his care towards her, as well in adorning and furnishing her with every spiritual gift, as in defending her against her enemies. The general meaning of the prophesy is, that God would render his church most beautiful, splendid, and pleasant to the spiritual eye, such as is a city to the natural eye, composed of precious, shining, red, and beautiful stones. The true ornaments of the church, and of its members, are those internal virtues and graces which render it so lovely in the sight of its great Redeemer. The reader will find this emblem of our prophet finely illustrated by St. John in his description of the new Jerusalem; where all will be pure, excellent, and holy, and whence every thing defiling and abominable will be for ever excluded. See Revelation 21. If in this prophesy the gospel-church, in its first institution, be alluded to, we must understand that church as it exists in the sacred writings, while there can be no doubt that a future and more glorious state of the church is referred to in this remarkable prophesy. See Vitringa.