Isaiah 61:1-11
1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.
5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.
7 For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.
8 For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed.
10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketha himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
CHAPTER 61
The King, Jehovah's Messenger: His People and their Salvation Song
1. Jehovah's Messenger and His work (Isaiah 61:1) 2. His people a kingdom of priests and their work (Isaiah 61:6) 3. The salvation song (Isaiah 61:10) 4. The blessings of the whole earth (Isaiah 61:11 Luke 4:1 tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ applied the opening verses to Himself. The destructive criticism denies both the Isaiah authorship of this chapter and its messianic application. The satanic origin of this kind of criticism is here fully exposed. But our Lord did not quote the whole of verse 2. He only read up to “the acceptable year of the Lord.” This sentence marks the work He did in His first advent. The day of vengeance is introduced by His second advent. The results of His second coming are described in the verses which follow. Then Israel will be the kingdom of priests and a holy nation Exodus 19:1). They will sing the song of salvation (Isaiah 61:10). Righteousness and praise will follow.