Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Isaiah 25:7

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Isaiah 25:7. The face of the covering cast over all people - "The covering that covered the face of all the peoples"] MS. Bodl. reads על פני כל al peney chol. The word פני peney, face, has been removed from its right place into the line above, where it makes no sense; as Houbigant conjectured. "The face of the covering," &c. He will unveil all the Mosaic ritual, and show by his apostles that it referred to, and was accomplished in, the sacrificial offering of Jesus Christ.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

24:1-27:13 FINAL JUDGMENT AND SALVATION

The judgment of various contemporary nations leads the prophet to consider God’s final great judgment on the world. Naturally, his illustrations are taken from the world that he knew, and the nations he mentions are those of his time, but the principles of judgment and salvation that he presents are those of the unchangeable God. They will find their fullest expression in God’s mighty triumph at the end of the world’s history.

Some will mourn, others rejoice (24:1-25:12)

When God judges sinners, he will make no distinctions on the basis of status or class. All who have rebelled against God and ignored his law will be punished (24:1-5). There will be few survivors (6). In a world where people previously lived mainly to enjoy themselves, the most noticeable feature will be an absence of joy and merriment (7-11). The only ones spared in the widespread judgment will be the few who have remained faithful to God. These are compared to the odd grapes left here and there after harvest (12-13).
This remnant then praises God for his salvation. The prophet finds it difficult to share their joyous feelings, for he thinks of the sinful people around him and foresees their terrible punishment (14-16). There will be no way of escape when that day of judgment comes. The world will stagger and fall under the weight of its sins (17-20).
High rank will not save those who have rebelled against God. The rulers of nations will be thrown together like prisoners locked in a crowded dungeon as they await their final punishment (21-22). After all the sinners are removed, God will reign in glory so dazzling that even the sun and moon will appear dark by comparison (23).
At this reminder of the final triumph and glory of God, the prophet breaks forth in a song of praise to him whose victory has been planned from the beginning. When people see God destroy the things they have proudly built, they will turn and praise him (25:1-3). He will give relief to those who are oppressed and will silence the boastful oppressors (4-5).
God will celebrate his victory with a great feast, and introduce an era of joy where all signs of mourning are removed and the possibility of death is gone for ever (6-8). God’s people rejoice in his salvation (9), but his enemies suffer humiliating destruction. Their boasting cannot save them, and all their clever achievements finish in ruin (10-12).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

“And in this mountain will Jehovah of hosts make unto all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering that covereth all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He hath swallowed up death forever; and the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of his people will he take away from off all the earth: for Jehovah hath spoken it.”

“In this mountain” This refers back to Isaiah 24:23 and means mount Zion, that is, Jerusalem. Part of these verses refer to the literal, earthly Jerusalem, because there is where Jesus was crucified, and that was the occasion when he destroyed death by giving his life on the Cross. On the other hand, the feast of good things for the “peoples (not people) of “all” nations is prophesied as a blessing of the Messianic kingdom, i.e., the spiritual mount Zion, the heavenly New Jerusalem.

This is one of the grandest and most wonderful passages in all the Word of God, and except for one other reference (Hosea 13:14), the very first reference to the abolition of death in all the Bible.

The feast of good things for God’s people is treated first. The mention of wine “on the lees, well refined” is of interest. “Leaving , wine on the lees heightened its flavor and made it stronger.”J. R. Dummelow’s Commentary, p. 433. However, this also tended to cloud the wine with sediment; but the expression “well refined” showed that the Prophet was here promising the very best wine possible. We should not consider the heavenly feast in a literal, sensuous way at all. These delicious things are symbols of a whole family of enjoyments and delights which men cannot know until they get to heaven. There are echoes of Isaiah 2:2-4 here.

“The veil that is spread over all nations” This is a Hebraism explaining what is meant by the “face of the covering that covereth all peoples,” and explained even further by the following verse, “He hath swallowed up death forever.” Scholars do not agree on what is meant by the destruction of the “veil,” Hailey thinks that it was the veil mentioned by Paul in 2 Corinthians 3:14-16.Homer Hailey, p. 207. Dummelow stated that, “The face of the covering, etc. is put symbolically for the destruction of death,”J. R. Dummelow’s Commentary, p. 433. thus making `the face of the covering that covereth all peoples’ and the `veil that is spread over all nations’ parallel to each other and both of them meaning death itself. We believe that both of these scholars are correct. One cannot read this without being aware of the veil of the temple and the rending of it from the top to the bottom upon the occasion of Jesus’ crucifixion.

THE VEIL

That veil of the temple was a symbol: (1) of Christ himself (Hebrews 10:19-22); (2) of death, as indicated by its location (symbolically) between the church (the sanctuary) and heaven (the Holy of Holies); (3) of equality among God’s children, since it separated between the High Priest and the lesser priests; (4) of the veil of darkness that prevents unbelievers from understanding the Old Testament; and (5) of the law of Moses, being actually the pivotal instrument in that whole system. These are some of the symbolical connotations of the veil of the temple, the most significant fact about that veil being that it was “rent in twain.” It is in that second condition of the veil, that is, after it was rent, that it symbolized Christ’s entering in “through death” into that which is beyond the veil (Hebrews 6:19); it symbolized the opening of a new and living way for all men to be saved (Hebrews 10:20); it symbolized the destruction of death as stated by Isaiah in this very chapter; and it symbolized the opening up and clarification of countless passages in the Old Testament, which cannot ever be understood apart from their connection with Jesus Christ. Christ alone is indeed the “Key to the Scriptures.” (See more complete discussion of all this in my New Testament Series, Vol. 10, pp. 172-174.)

Dummelow noted that Isaiah 25:8 reads, “He hath swallowed up death in victory.” He further stated that this rendition is supported by a number of early Greek versions and by the apostle Paul’s quotation of this place in 1 Corinthians 15:54.”Ibid. Also, it is of great significance that in that very passage Paul also quoted Hosea 13:14, “O death where is thy victory; O death where is thy sting,” that marvelous passage which precedes this one chronologically has been butchered and perverted by the translators of the so-called Good News Bible, to read as follows:

“Bring on your plagues, death!
Bring on your destruction, world of the dead!
I will no longer have pity on this people.” (Hosea 13:14)

This is one of the most diabolical mistranslations of God’s Word! It is no translation, but a contradictory change of the meaning, entitling this so-called Good News Bible to be entitled a corrupt Bible, no Bible at all, but a book that gives what scholars think God should have said, instead of what he actually said. Add to this the fact that the inspired apostle Paul’s proper rendition of the passage in his quotation is also denied and contradicted at the same time!

Why? it may be asked did translators take such liberties with God’s Word. The answer is that they did so upon the same premise that Satan used when he contradicted God’s Word to Eve. Oh yes, they have a silly dictum, one of the crooked rules enforced in infidel seminaries, i.e., that the same prophet could not possibly have pronounced cursing and blessings in the same prophecy, and certainly not in the same paragraph. Thus, they affirmed that what the critics wrote is “more likely” to have been what Hosea thought than what is found in the sacred text!. Now, of course, that crooked rule would destroy the words of Christ himself who mentioned heaven and hell in the same line, and also the wide gate and broad way to destruction, along with the strait gate and the narrow way to life eternal in the very same verse. Christian people should be diligently aware of what evil men are trying to do to the word of God.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

And he will destroy - Hebrew, ‘He will swallow up,’ that is, he will abolish, remove, or take away.

In this mountain the face of the covering - In mount Zion, or in Jerusalem. This would be done in Jerusalem, or on the mountains of which Jerusalem was a part, where the great transactions of the plan of redemption would be accomplished. The word ‘face’ here is used as it is frequently among the Hebrews, where the face of a thing denotes its aspect. or appearance, and then the thing itself. Thus ‘the face of God’ is put for God himself; the ‘face of the earth’ for the earth itself; and the ‘face of the vail’ means the veil itself, or the appearance of the veil. To cover the head or the face was a common mode of expressing grief (see 2Sa 15:30; 2 Samuel 19:5; Esther 6:12). It is probable that the expression here is taken from this custom, and the veil over the nations here is to be understood as expressive of the ignorance, superstition, crime, and wretchedness that covered the earth.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

7.And he will destroy the face of the covering. ⁽¹⁴³⁾ Here also commentators differ, for by the word covering is meant the disgrace with which believers are covered in this world, so that the glory of God is not seen in them; as if he had said, “Though many reproaches oppress the godly, yet God will take away those reproaches, and will make their condition glorious. I pass by other interpretations; but, in my opinion, the true meaning is, that the Lord promises that he will take away the veil by which they were kept in blindness and ignorance; and therefore it was by the light of the gospel that this darkness was dispelled.

In that mountain. He says that this will be in mount Zion, from which also the light of the word shone on the whole world, as we have already seen. (Isaiah 2:3.) This passage, therefore, must unavoidably be referred to the kingdom of Christ; for the light did not shine on all men till Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, arose, (Malachi 4:2,) who took away all the veils, wrappings, and coverings. And here we have another commendation of the gospel, that it dispels the darkness, and takes away from our eyes the covering of errors. Hence it follows, that we are wrapped up and blinded by the darkness of ignorance, before we are enlightened by the doctrine of the gospel, by which alone we can obtain light and life, and be fully restored. Here, too, we have a confirmation of the calling of the Gentiles, that is, of our calling; for not only the Jews, but all nations, which formerly were buried in every kind of errors and superstition, are invited to this banquet.

(143) Bogus footnote

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 25

But O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth ( Isaiah 25:1 ).

In other words, "God, I'm going to worship You and praise You. These are things that You've determined long ago, but they are faithful, they're true." Jesus said, "I am faithful and true witness" ( Revelation 3:14 ). Jesus confirmed these things are going to come to pass. He that is faithful and true saith. And Jesus, saying much of these same things as Isaiah, declares Himself as the faithful and true witness declaring these very things. God said to Daniel, "Seal up the prophecy for it is sure." It shall surely happen. And so here is Isaiah praising God for His faithfulness. Here is Isaiah praising God for His name and for the wonderful things that He has counseled of old, that He shall bring to pass.

For thou hast made of a city a heap; of a defensed city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built. Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the awesome nations will fear thee. For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall ( Isaiah 25:2-4 ).

God has been and is always a strength to the poor. He is a strength to the needy. He is a refuge from the storm. How many times have we sought and found refuge in Him from the storm. He is a shadow from the heat. He is praising the Lord for being the refuge and the shadow from the heat and the blast from the awesome ones.

Now this could very definitely be a reference to the things that will be taking place at the Great Tribulation and how that God will be the refuge to His children. "Come ye apart, my children, for a while, until the indignation be overpast" ( Isaiah 26:20 ). I cannot believe, I do not believe that the church will be here when this horrible devastation that Isaiah speaks about takes place upon the earth. I do not believe that. I am so deeply convicted of the fact that the Lord has better plans for me.

Jesus said, "Pray always, that you'll be accounted worthy to escape all of these things that are coming to pass upon the earth, and to be standing before the Son of man" ( Luke 21:36 ). He will be a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat.

Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the awesome ones shall be brought low. And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all the faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it ( Isaiah 25:5-8 ).

Now if I just had read you that scripture and we weren't going along in Isaiah and I said, "Where is this scripture found?" And "He will swallow up death in victory." You'll say, isn't that in Corinthians? 1Co 15:1-58? "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" ( 1 Corinthians 15:55 ) You see, Jesus has triumphed over death, hell and the grave. And in speaking of the resurrection of Jesus Christ which brings to us the hope of our resurrection, for Paul said:

Now is Christ raised from the dead, and it has become the firstfruits of those who rise from the dead. But some of you will say, How are the dead raised? and with what body will they come? Don't you realize that when you plant a seed into the ground it doesn't come forth into new life until it first of all dies? And then the body that comes out of the ground isn't the body that you planted. Because all you planted was a bare grain, by chance, wheat or some other grain. And God gives to it a body as pleases Him. So is the resurrection from the dead. You are planted in weakness and you're raised in power. You're planted in corruption; you're raised in incorruption. You're sown in dishonor, you're raised in glory. You're planted as a natural body, you're raised as a spiritual body. For there's a natural body, there's a spiritual body. And even as you're born in the image of the earth and have been earthy, so shall you bear the image of the heaven. And of course, the glory of the celestial is one, the glory of the terrestrial is another" ( 1 Corinthians 15:20 , 1 Corinthians 15:35-38 , 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 , 1 Corinthians 15:40 ).

And he goes on and speaks about these things and then he said, "But behold, I'm going to show you a mystery. We're not going to all sleep, but we're all going to have a metamorphosis, a change of body. In a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trump of God shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" ( 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 ).

And then shall be brought to pass this saying, "O death, where is thy string? O grave, where is thy victory?" For the sting of death was sin but it has been removed through Jesus Christ. Oh, thank God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And so this glorious Easter proclamation. It all hinges on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It has brought to us this glorious hope. And in that day, the death will no longer be victorious. It will be swallowed up. It was swallowed up in victory in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. "And the Lord will wipe away all tears."

Now if I read that to you, you'll say, "That's in Revelation, isn't it?" Yeah, seventh chapter. "And God shall wipe away all tears." And then Revelation chapter 22, again, "And God shall wipe away all tears." The glorious day of the kingdom. "And the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it." I like that. God spoke it. You know it's going to be.

And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him ( Isaiah 25:9 ),

You've been waiting for the Lord? He will come. Surely He will come.

and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill. And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands. And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust ( Isaiah 25:9-12 ).

So the devastation of chapter 24, the Great Tribulation, and then the glorious triumphs of the Kingdom Age in chapter 25, and then God's restoration of His work on Israel in chapter 26. It's unfortunate that they've made chapter distinctions because these things all flow together. And really we should go on and take chapter 26, but we're not going to until next Sunday night. But we hope that you can remember the sequence that we have here. The Great Tribulation, the beginning of the Kingdom Age, the Lord's victory and glory, and then God's glorious dealing with His people Israel. And it's always exciting. God is faithful to His promises and as we get into chapter 26 and all, we've got God's glorious work in restoration of His people. As the prophets have all foretold when once again God begins to work in their midst.

Shall we stand.

I love the Bible, because you know that it's true. You know that what God has said He has done. And if He has done what He said you know that He will also do what He said He is going to do. You can read it with such confidence, such assurance knowing that it shall indeed be. "Heaven and earth," Jesus said, "will pass away, but My Word will never pass away" ( Matthew 24:35 ). The sureness of the Word of God. And so you can read it and you can map out your life by the Word of God and always be on safe ground. God's Word cannot fail. God's Word will not fail. You can bank on it.

May the Lord be with you and may the Lord strengthen you through this week. And may the Word be as a fire burning within your heart as God ministers to you His truth. And may your life be purged through the Word, cleansed. And may you walk with the Lord in beautiful fellowship. And may God grant to you opportunities of witnessing and serving Him. In Jesus' name. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The coming great banquet 25:6-8

Having delivered His people from the Tribulation and preserved them to enter His earthly kingdom, the Lord will invite them to rejoice with Him at a great banquet at the beginning of the Millennium (cf. Exodus 24:11).

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The Lord will also remove the curse of death that has hung over humankind since the Fall (cf. Isaiah 26:19; Genesis 2:17; Job 19:26; Daniel 12:2; Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:54; Hebrews 2:15; Revelation 7:17; Revelation 21:4; Revelation 22:3). This will occur at the end of the Millennium, after the final rebellion and God’s creation of new heavens and a new earth. Isaiah’s vision of the future followed the course of events that later revelation clarified, but he did not present the eschatological future as consisting of consecutive watertight compartments for two reasons. First, he did not see the future as clearly as later prophets did (1 Peter 1:10-12), and second, he described the future here as a poet rather than as a historian. Isaiah here telescoped the millennial and eternal reigns of God-both aspects constitute His future kingdom-as He did the first and second advents of Christ (Isaiah 65:17-25).

Sovereign Yahweh will wipe the tears from each face (Revelation 7:17; Revelation 21:4), as a loving mother, and will remove the disgrace to His people from living in slavery to sin (cf. Joshua 5:9; Ezekiel 5:13-17; Romans 11:11-27). This is a promise from the Lord. It was customary for an ancient Near Eastern king at his banquet to demonstrate his power by performing some heroic act. [Note: Watts, p. 331.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people,.... Or, "the covering of the face" f; that which has covered the face of all people; that darkness which has been spread over them, partly by Mahomet, and his Alcoran, and partly by the pope of Rome, and his party; the covering of human doctrines and traditions seems chiefly intended, which now will be removed, as well as all Pagan and Mahometan darkness, through the clear ministration of the everlasting Gospel, which will be spread with power, and in its purity, throughout the whole world; see

Isaiah 60:1 more especially this may respect the light and glory of the New Jerusalem state, in which Christ will be the light thereof, and the nations of them that are saved shall walk in it, and Satan will be bound a thousand years, that he may not deceive the nations any more,

Revelation 21:23

and the veil that is spread over all nations; meaning the same as before; the veil or covering of darkness and ignorance, with which the nations are covered, either Papal, Pagan, and Mahometan; particularly, respect may be had to the veil that is upon the Jewish nation, which remains to this day, and will be taken off when it shall turn to the Lord, 2 Corinthians 3:13 this may be said in allusion to the veil on Moses's face, when he spake to the people, Exodus 34:33 as the former expression may be to the covering or wrapper about the face of dead men, John 11:44 for they that sit in spiritual darkness, are in the region of the shadow of death.

f פני הלוט "velum faciei", Piscator.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      6 And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.   7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.   8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.

      If we suppose (as many do) that this refers to the great joy which there should be in Zion and Jerusalem when the army of the Assyrians was routed by an angel, or when the Jews were released out of their captivity in Babylon, or upon occasion of some other equally surprising deliverance, yet we cannot avoid making it to look further, to the grace of the gospel and the glory which is the crown and consummation of that grace; for it is at our resurrection through Christ that the saying here written shall be brought to pass; then, and not till then (if we may believe St. Paul), it shall have its full accomplishment: Death is swallowed up in victory,1 Corinthians 15:54. This is a key to the rest of the promises here connected together. And so we have here a prophecy of the salvation and the grace brought unto us by Jesus Christ, into which the prophets enquired and searched diligently,1 Peter 1:10.

      I. That the grace of the gospel should be a royal feast for all people; not like that of Ahasuerus, which was intended only to show the grandeur of the master of the feast (Esther 1:4); for this is intended to gratify the guests, and therefore, whereas all there was for show, all here is for substance. The preparations made in the gospel for the kind reception of penitents and supplicants with God are often in the New Testament set forth by the similitude of a feast, as Matthew 22:1, c., which seems to be borrowed from this prophecy. 1. God himself is the Master of the feast, and we may be sure he prepares like himself, as becomes him to give, rather than as becomes us to receive. The Lord of hosts makes this feast. 2. The guests invited are all people, Gentiles as well as Jews. Go preach the gospel to every creature. There is enough for all, and whoever will may come, and partake freely, even those that are gathered out of the highways and the hedges. 3. The place is Mount Zion. Thence the preaching of the gospel takes rise: the preachers must begin at Jerusalem. The gospel church is the Jerusalem that is above there this feast is made, and to it all the invited guests must go. 4. The provision is very rich, and every thing is of the best. It is a feast, which supposes abundance and variety; it is a continual feast to believers, it is their own fault if it be not. It is a feast of fat things and full of marrow; so relishing, so nourishing, are the comforts of the gospel to all those that feast upon them and digest them. The returning prodigal was entertained with the fatted calf; and David has that pleasure in communion with God with which his soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness. It is a feast of wines on the lees, the strongest-bodied wines, that have been kept long upon the lees, and then are well refined from them, so that they are clear and fine. There is that in the gospel which, like wine soberly used, makes glad the heart and raises the spirits, and is fit for those that are of a heavy heart, being under convictions of sin and mourning for it, that they may drink and forget their misery (for that is the proper use of wine--it is a cordial for those that need it, Proverbs 31:5; Proverbs 31:6), may be of good cheer, knowing that their sins are forgiven, and may be vigorous in their spiritual work and warfare, as a strong man refreshed with wine.

      II. That the world should be freed from that darkness of ignorance and mistake in the mists of which it had been so long lost and buried (Isaiah 25:7; Isaiah 25:7): He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering (the covering of the face) with which all people are covered (hood-winked or blind-folded) so that they cannot see their way nor go about their work, and by reason of which they wander endlessly. Their faces are covered as those of men condemned, or dead men. There is a veil spread over all nations, for they all sit in darkness; and no marvel, when the Jews themselves, among whom God was known, had a veil upon their hearts,2 Corinthians 3:15. But this veil the Lord will destroy, by the light of his gospel shining in the world, and the power of his Spirit opening men's eyes to receive it. He will raise those to spiritual life that have long been dead in trespasses and sins.

      III. That death should be conquered, the power of it broken, and the property of it altered: He will swallow up death in victory,Isaiah 25:8; Isaiah 25:8. 1. Christ will himself, in his resurrection, triumph over death, will break its bands, its bars, asunder, and cast away all its cords. The grave seemed to swallow him up, but really he swallowed it up. 2. The happiness of the saints shall be out of the reach of death, which puts a period to all the enjoyments of this world, embitters them, and stains the beauty of them. 3. Believers may triumph over death, and look upon it as a conquered enemy: O death! where is thy sting? 4. When the dead bodies of the saints shall be raised at the great day, and their mortality swallowed up of life, then death will be for ever swallowed up of victory; and it is the last enemy.

      IV. That grief shall be banished, and there shall be perfect and endless joy: The Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces. Those that mourn for sin shall be comforted and have their consciences pacified. In the covenant of grace there shall be that provided which is sufficient to counterbalance all the sorrows of this present time, to wipe away our tears, and to refresh us. Those particularly that suffer for Christ shall have consolations abounding as their afflictions do abound. But in the joys of heaven, and nowhere short of them, will fully be brought to pass this saying, as that before, for there it is that God shall wipe away all tears,Revelation 7:17; Revelation 21:4. And there shall be no more sorrow, because there shall be no more death. The hope of this should now wipe away all excessive tears, all the weeping that hinders sowing.

      V. That all the reproach cast upon religion and the serious professors of it shall be for ever rolled away: The rebuke of his people, which they have long lain under, the calumnies and misrepresentations by which they have been blackened, the insolence and cruelty with which their persecutors have trampled on them and trodden them down, shall be taken away. Their righteousness shall be brought forth as the light, in the view of all the world, who shall be convinced that they are not such as they have been invidiously characterized; and so their salvation from the injuries done them as such shall be wrought out. Sometimes in this world God does that for his people which takes away their reproach from among men. However, it will be done effectually at the great day; for the Lord has spoken it, who can, and will, make it good. Let us patiently bear sorrow and shame now, and improve both; for shortly both will be done away.