God’s people are stirred up to appear vigorous for their own deliverance, v. 1, 2. They had desired that God would awake and put on his strength, ch.51:9. Here he calls upon them to awake and put on their strength, to bestir themselves; let them awake from their despondency, and pluck up their spirits, encourage themselves and one another with the hope that all will be well yet, and no longer succumb and sink under their burden. Let them awake from their distrust, look above them, look about them, look into the promises, look into the providences of God that were working for them, and let them raise their expectations of great things from God. Let them awake from their dullness, sluggishness, and incogitancy, and raise up their endeavours, not to take any irregular courses for their own relief, contrary to the law of nations concerning captives, but to use all likely means to recommend themselves to the favour of the conqueror and make an interest with him.
1 Awake, awake,
put on your strength, O Zion;
put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city;
for there shall no more come into you
the uncircumcised and the unclean.
2 Shake yourself from the dust and arise;
be seated, O Jerusalem;
loose the bonds from your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion. (Isaiah 52:1-2)
[Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem] - A call is given for Zion to awake from drunkenness and clothe herself in garments of honor and dignity provided by the Lord. Foreign invaders will no longer control the city at the time of her final restoration. The pinnacle of Zion is told to put on thy strength, and the city of Jerusalem is told to put on her beautiful garments (robes). She shall no longer be a servant girl, trodden underfoot by the gentile nations; but she shall once again be the holy city. Zion and Jerusalem, the holy city, are the subjects here, not Samaria and the destroyed ten tribes. They are to put off their garments of sackcloth, the ashes, and all signs of mourning, slavery and captivity, and put on prosperity.
[beautiful garments.] Jerusalem is pictured as magnificently dressed as a royal wife (61:10; Rev. 3:4, 5, 18; 4:4; compare 47:1–3).
[the holy city] There are two holy cities in Scripture:
- Earthly Jerusalem ( Isa. 52:1 ; Dan. 9:24 ; Rev. 11:2 )
- Heavenly Jerusalem ( Heb. 12:22 ; Rev. 21:2 ; 22:19 )
[holy city] Earthly Jerusalem is called holy because of being chosen and set apart as the location of divine worship ( Zech. 14:16-21 ) and the sacred capital of the Messiah for all eternity ( Isa. 2:2-4 62:7 ; 1Chr. 23:25 ; Ps. 102:21 ; Jer. 3:17 ; Ezek. 43:7 ; 48:35 ).
[no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean] This proves a future fulfillment beyond doubt ( Isa. 35:8-10 Zech. 14:16-21 ).
[the uncircumcised and the unclean.] The wicked will have no share in the city of God (48:22; Nah. 1:15; Rev. 21:27; 22:14, 15).
Verse 2
When he says [shake off your dust,] let us not on that account think that our liberty is in our power, so that we can obtain it whenever we think fit; only God can raise us from the dust or lift us up when we are prostrate and, by breaking or loosing our chains, set us at liberty. Why then does the prophet use the imperative? It is unreasonable to demand what we cannot perform. The answer is that the imperative form of address has a much more powerful tendency to arouse than if he had employed plain narrative; therefore he declares that when God has restored her to her former freedom, she will come out of the mire.
[bands of thy neck] The bands of the neck could only refer to the chains by which conquered people were led into captivity. They were chained together in long lines until they reached their destination where they were sent into slavery or otherwise disposed of.
Charles Spurgeon notes a couple of things of good value here:
The first is that they should be reformed by their captivity: There shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean (v. 1); their idolatrous customs should be no more introduced, or at least not harboured; for when by the marriage of strange wives, in Ezra’s time and Nehemiah’s, the unclean crept in, they were soon by the vigilance and zeal of the magistrates expelled again, and care was taken that Jerusalem should be a holy city. Thus the gospel Jerusalem is purified by the blood of Christ and the grace of God, is purified by the blood of Christ and the grace of God, and made indeed a holy city.
Next, that they should be relieved and rescued out of that captivity, that the bands of their necks should be loosed, that they should not now be any longer oppressed, indeed, that they should not be any more invaded, as they had been: There shall no more come against thee (so it may be read) the uncircumcised and the clean. The heathen shall not again enter into God’s sanctuary and profane his temple. (Ps. 79:1)
This must be understood with a condition. If they keep close to God, and keep in with him, God will keep off, will keep out of the enemy; but, if they again corrupt themselves, Antiochus will profane their temple and the Romans will destroy it. However, for some time they shall have peace. And to this happy change, now approaching, they are here called to accommodate themselves.
• First, let them prepare for joy:
“Put on thy beautiful garments, no longer to appear in mourning weeds and the habit of thy widowhood. Put on a new face, a smiling countenance, now that a new and pleasant scene begins to open."
The beautiful garments were laid up then, when the harps were hung on the willow trees; but, now there is occasion for both, let both be resumed together.
“Put on thy strength, and, in order to that, put on thy beautiful garments, in token of triumph and rejoicing."
Note, The joy of the Lord will be our strength (Neh. 8:10), and our beautiful garments will serve for (Neh. 8:10), and our beautiful garments will serve for armour of proof against the darts of temptation and trouble. And observe, Jerusalem must put on her beautiful garments when she becomes a holy city, for the beauty of holiness is the most amiable beauty, and the more holy we are the more cause we have to rejoice.
• Also, he says to let them prepare for liberty:
“Shake thyself from the dust in which thou hast lain, and into which thy proud oppressors have trodden thee (ch.51:23), or into which thou hast in thy extreme sorrow rolled thyself."
Arise, and set up; so it may be read.
“O Jerusalem! prepare to get clear of all the marks of servitude thou hast been under and to shift thy quarters: Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck; be inspired with generous principles and resolutions to assert thy own liberty."
The gospel proclaims liberty to those who were bound with fears and makes it their duty to take hold of their liberty. Let those who have been weary and heavily laden under the burden of sin, finding relief in Christ, shake themselves from the dust of their doubts and fears and loose themselves from those bands; for:
if the Son make them free, they shall be free indeed.
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