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Commentary on Isaiah 49 verses 13–17
The scope of these verses is to show that the return of the people of God out of their captivity, and the eternal redemption to be wrought out by Christ (of which that was a type), would be great occasions of joy to the church and great proofs of the tender care God has of the church.
I. Nothing can furnish us with better matter for songs of praise and thanksgiving, Isa 49:13. Let the whole creation join with us in songs of joy, for it shares with us in the benefits of the redemption, and all they can contribute to this sacred melody is little enough in return for such inestimable favours, Psa 96:11. Let there be joy in heaven, and let the angels of God celebrate the praises of the great Redeemer; let the earth and the mountains, particularly the great ones of the earth, be joyful, and break forth into singing, for the earnest expectation of the creature that waits for the glorious liberty of the children of God (Rom 8:19, Rom 8:21) shall now be abundantly answered. God's people are the blessings and ornaments of the world, and therefore let there be universal joy, for God has comforted his people that were in sorrow and he will have mercy upon the afflicted because of his compassion, upon his afflicted because of his covenant.
II. Nothing can furnish us with more convincing arguments to prove the most tender and affectionate concern God has for his church, and her interests and comforts.
1.The troubles of the church have given some occasion to question God's care and concern for it, Isa 49:14. Zion, in distress, said, The Lord has forsaken me, and looks after me no more; my Lord has forgotten me, and will look after me no more. See how deplorable the case of God's people may be sometimes, such that they may seem to be forsaken and forgotten of their God; and at such a time their temptations may be alarmingly violent. Infidels, in their presumption, say God has forsaken the earth (Eze 8:12), and has forgotten their sins, Psa 10:11. Weak believers, in their despondency, are ready to say, "God has forsaken his church and forgotten the sorrows of his people." But we have no more reason to question his promise and grace than we have to question his providence and justice. He is as sure a rewarder as he is a revenger. Away therefore with these distrusts and jealousies, which are the bane of friendship.
2.The triumphs of the church, after her troubles, will in due time put the matter out of question.
(1.)What God will do for Zion we are told, Isa 49:17. [1.] Her friends, who had deserted her, shall be gathered to her, and shall contribute their utmost to her assistance and comfort: Thy children shall make haste. Converts to the faith of Christ are the children of the church; they shall join themselves to her with great readiness and cheerfulness, and flock into the communion of saints, as doves to their windows. "Thy builders shall make haste" (so some read it), "who shall build up thy houses, thy walls, especially thy temple; they shall do it with expedition." Church work is usually slow work; but, when God's time shall come, it shall be done suddenly. [2.] Her enemies, who had threatened and assaulted her, shall be forced to withdraw from her: Thy destroyers, and those who made thee waste, who had made themselves masters of the country and ravaged it, shall go forth of thee. By Christ the prince of this world, the great destroyer, is cast out, is dispossessed, has his power broken and his attempts quite baffled.
(2.)Now by this it will appear that Zion's suggestions were altogether groundless, that God has not forsaken her, nor forgotten her, nor ever will. Be assured, [1.] That God has a tender affection for his church and people, Isa 49:15. In answer to Zion's fears, God speaks as one concerned for his own glory (he takes himself to be reflected upon if Zion say, The Lord has forsaken me, and he will clear himself), as one concerned also for his people's comfort; he would not have them droop, and be discouraged, and give way to any uneasy thoughts. "You think that I have forgotten you. Can a woman forget her sucking child?" First, It is not likely that she should. A woman, whose honour it is to be of the tender sex as well as the fair one, cannot but have compassion for a child, which, being both harmless and helpless, is a proper object of compassion. A mother, especially, cannot but be concerned for her own child; for it is her own, a piece of herself, and very lately one with her. A nursing mother, most of all, cannot but be tender of her sucking child; her own breasts will soon put her in mind of it if she should forget it. But, Secondly, It is possible that she may forget. A woman may perhaps be so unhappy as not to be able to remember her sucking child (she may be sick, and dying, and going to the land of forgetfulness), or she may be so unnatural as not to have compassion on the son of her womb, as those who, to conceal their shame, are the death of their children as soon as they are their life, Lam 4:10; Deu 28:57. But, says God, I will not forget thee. Note, God's compassions to his people infinitely exceed those of the tenderest parents towards their children. What are the affections of nature to those of the God of nature! [2.] That he has a constant care of his church and people (Isa 49:16): I have engraven thee upon the palms of my hands. This does not allude to the foolish art of palmistry, which imagines every man's fate to be engraved in the palms of his hands and to be legible in the lines there, but to the custom of those who tie a string upon their hands or fingers to put them in mind of things which they are afraid they shall forget, or to the wearing of signet or locket-rings in remembrance of some dear friend. His setting them thus as a seal upon his arm denotes his setting them as a seal upon his heart, and his being ever mindful of them and their interests, Sol 8:6. If we bind God's law as a sign upon our hand (Deu 6:8, Deu 6:11, Deu 6:18), he will engrave our interests as a sign on his hand, and will look upon that and remember the covenant. He adds, "Thy walls shall be continually before me; thy ruined walls, though no pleasing spectacle, shall be in my thoughts of compassion." Do Zions' friends favour her dust? Psa 102:14. So does her God. Or, "The plan and model of thy walls, that are to be rebuilt, is before me, and they shall certainly be built according to it." Or, "Thy walls (that is, thy safety) are my continual care; so are the watchmen on thy walls." Some apply his engraving his church on the palms of his hands to the wounds in Christ's hands when he was crucified; he will look on the marks of them, and remember those for whom he suffered and died.
(Verse 14 and following) And Zion said: The Lord has abandoned me, and the Lord has forgotten me. Can a woman forget her nursing child, so as not to have compassion on the son of her womb? Even if she forgets, I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; your walls are always before my eyes. Your builders have come, and those who destroyed and devastated you will depart from you. Lift up your eyes all around and see; all these have gathered together, they have come to you. I live, says the Lord: that you may be adorned with all these, and that you may surround yourself with them as a bride, for your desolate and deserted places, and the land of your ruins, will now be too narrow for your inhabitants, and those who devoured you will be far away. They will still say in your ears, the sons of your barrenness: It is too small for me, make room for me to live. And you will say in your heart: Who has borne these for me? I am barren and not bearing children, a wanderer and captive: and who raised them? I am abandoned and alone: and where were they? LXX: But Zion said: The Lord has forsaken me, and God has forgotten me. Will a woman forget her infant, that she would not have compassion on the child of her womb? But even if a woman were to forget these, I will not forget you, says the Lord. Behold, I have engraved your walls on my hands: and you are always before me. You will be rebuilt quickly by those from whom you were destroyed; and those who scattered you will come out from you. Lift up your eyes all around and see: all these have gathered together, they have come to you. As I live, says the Lord, you shall put them all on like an ornament, and wrap them around you like a bride's necklace: for your desolate and ruined places and your destroyed land will now be too small for your inhabitants, and those who humbled you will be far away from you. For they will say in your ears, your sons whom you have lost: There is narrow space for me: make room for me to live. And you will say in your heart: Who has borne these for me? And I, without children and a widow, who has brought up these for me? I have been forsaken alone, and where were they? Jerusalem and Zion are understood in four ways in the holy Scriptures, as we have often mentioned. One, according to the Jews, which the Lord laments in the Gospel, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the Prophets, and stones those who are sent to you (Matthew 23:37). And in another place: When you see Jerusalem surrounded by an army, then know that its desolation is near (Luke, XXI, 20). Secondly, the congregation of the Saints, who are established in the peace of the Lord and in the towers of virtues, are rightly called Zion, of whom it is said: Its foundations are on the holy mountains: the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob (Psalm LXXXVI, 1). For the foundations of the Jewish Zion, which we see to be destroyed, were not loved by the Lord, nor could that which was loved by the Lord be destroyed. Thirdly, Jerusalem is called the multitude of Angels, Dominions, and Powers, and everything that is established in the ministry of God. Concerning this Jerusalem, the Apostle speaks: But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all (Galatians 4:26). And in another place: But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22). Fourthly, Jerusalem is called the one which the Jews and our Judaizers, according to the Apocalypse of John, think should be placed in the celestial realm as a golden and bejeweled one, which they do not understand (Apocalypse 21), whose boundaries and infinite breadth are also described in the final part of Ezekiel. Therefore, since these things are so, let us now examine more closely what Zion has said: The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me. There is no doubt that the congregation of the saints, which was once among the Jews and was abandoned by the Lord, laments this and bitterly mourns that it has been deserted and deprived of the Lord's help. To this, God responded, using a natural analogy: Can a mother forget her infant, be without mercy towards the child of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you. I will say something more: even if she has forgotten, overcome by the hardness of her mind, the laws of nature; I, however, will not forget my creature, and I will always keep the souls of the saints in my heart. For you should know that what you think is completely abandoned, is written and depicted in my hands; and your walls always remain before my eyes. From this we learn that Jerusalem is not to be sought in the region of Palestine, which is the worst of the whole province, and is rough with rocky mountains, and suffers from scarcity of water, so much so that it needs heavenly rains and makes up for the scarcity of springs with the construction of cisterns; but it is in the hands of God, to which it is said: Your builders have hastened. Or according to the Septuagint: 'You will quickly be rebuilt by those by whom you were destroyed. For it was destroyed by the Jews, it was built by the Jews. It was deserted because of the fault of the Scribes and Pharisees, but it was gathered together for the preaching of the Apostles of Christ, both from the Jews and from the nations. It follows: And those who destroyed and scattered you will come out of you: the worst teachers; so that you do not follow at all the commandments and traditions of men (Matt. XV), but the law of God.' And it is said to her, to raise her eyes around, and to see the children who had gathered to her. Of whom also the Lord spoke: Lift up your eyes, and see that the harvest is already white for reaping (John 4:35). And to make us secure: As I live, says the Lord (which is said according to the custom of swearing in the Old Testament), you will be clothed with all these as with ornaments, and you will surround yourself with them, as a bride adorns herself with a necklace. Blessed is he who has such great merit and virtue that he is called an adornment of the Church. I think, however, that these various spiritual graces are signified, by which the bride is adorned. And this is sung about in the forty-fourth psalm: The queen stood at your right hand, in a garment adorned with gold, surrounded by variety (Ps. 44:10). For those places which were previously deserted and fallen into ruins, with the coming of Christ's Gospel, will be restored and will have such a multitude of inhabitants that they cannot be contained. So, while the persecutors are kept far away, or those about whom we have spoken above: Those who destroyed you and scattered you, will go out from you. And the sons of your barrenness, whom you thought you had completely lost, and that you were widowed by them, will say in your ears: 'The place is too narrow for me in the synagogues, make room for me in the Churches, so that I may dwell more expansively, so that I may not be constrained by the blasphemies of the Jews, so that the whole world may contain your wideness with you.' But unable to express the magnitude of my joy with my mouth, you will think silently in your heart, and say: Who has given birth to these for me? I was barren and a widow, forsaken and captive among the people of Judah, I had ceased to have children, for a long time I had not given birth. After Haggai and Zechariah and Malachi, I had seen no other prophets until John the Baptist; and how is it that being alone and deprived of the help of a husband, I have now begun to have so many children? But so that we may know that Christ is built upon a rock and foundation from both peoples, Paul speaks to the believers: Built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, with Jesus Christ himself as the chief cornerstone. (Ephesians 2:20.) From this it is clear that the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets is one, our Lord Jesus Christ.
We have often mentioned that Jerusalem and Zion in the holy Scriptures ought to be understood in four ways, one according to the Jews and when the Lord lamented in the Gospel, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who killed the prophets.” … Second, as the congregation of the saints that in the peace of the Lord and in the mirror of virtues is rightly called Zion, about which it is said, “Your foundations are in the holy mountains, the Lord loves the gates of Zion above all the temples of Jacob.” For it is not the foundations of the Jewish Zion that we saw were destroyed that was loved by the Lord, as if what was loved by the Lord could be destroyed. Third, “Jerusalem” means the host of angels and rulers and powers and all that is set up for God’s ministry.… Fourth, by “Jerusalem” is called that which the Jews and Judaizing Christians read of in the Apocalypse of John, a text they do not understand; they think of Jerusalem as golden and jeweled and coming down from the heavens, whose dimensions and enormous width are also described in the last part of Ezekiel.… There is no doubt that here the congregation of the saints remembers and complains in a tearful voice that it has been deserted and left destitute of the Lord’s help.
For who does not know that the memory of God is not affected by forgetting or restored by recollection? But when leaving something he passes it by, so that in the manner of human minds he is said to forget, and when after a long time he looks up what he wanted, in the habit of our mutability he is said to have recollected. By what arrangement of divinity does oblivion limit the power of the one whom the very notion of memory does not suit? For only past or absent things can be recollected. How can God remember past things, since the very things that pass in themselves are always present, standing by for his command? Or how can he recollect absent things when everything that is present to him [is present] by its essence?
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SUMMARY
Isaiah 49:14 powerfully articulates the profound lament of Zion, personifying the people of Israel in the crucible of Babylonian exile, who, overwhelmed by their suffering and perceived abandonment, cry out in despair to God. This verse captures a deep-seated human experience of doubt and spiritual anguish, expressing the fear that the LORD has utterly forsaken and forgotten His covenant people, thereby setting a poignant stage for God's immediate, tender, and powerful response of unwavering faithfulness and remembrance.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Isaiah 49:14 is rich in literary devices that amplify its emotional impact and theological significance. The most prominent is Personification, where "Zion," a geographical location representing the city of Jerusalem and its inhabitants, is endowed with the human capacity to speak and express deep emotional anguish. This allows the collective suffering and despair of the exiles to be articulated in a vivid, relatable, and deeply empathetic manner. The verse also employs Parallelism, specifically synonymous parallelism, in the phrases "The LORD hath forsaken me" and "my Lord hath forgotten me." The second clause echoes and reinforces the first, intensifying the sense of abandonment and neglect through the use of slightly different but related verbs ("forsaken" and "forgotten") and divine titles ("The LORD" and "my Lord"). This repetition underscores the depth of Zion's conviction that God has indeed withdrawn His presence and memory. Furthermore, the statement contains an element of Hyperbole, as Zion's declaration of being "forsaken" and "forgotten" is an emotional exaggeration of their current circumstances, though deeply felt and understandable. This hyperbole serves to highlight the extreme distress and perceived finality of their situation, setting up the dramatic contrast with God's immediate and tender reassurance that follows.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Isaiah 49:14 serves as a profound theological statement on the nature of human lament and the unwavering character of divine faithfulness. It validates the human experience of profound doubt and despair in the face of prolonged suffering, demonstrating that even God's chosen people can feel utterly abandoned. Yet, this lament is not the final word; rather, it is a crucial pivot point that elicits one of the most tender and emphatic declarations of God's unwavering love and remembrance in all of Scripture. The verse highlights the tension between human perception, which is often limited by present circumstances and emotional distress, and divine reality, which is grounded in eternal covenant promises. It underscores that God's faithfulness is not contingent upon His people's fleeting feelings or their present circumstances, but upon His own unchanging character and His enduring commitment, a truth that transcends even the deepest valleys of despair and offers a profound anchor for faith.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Isaiah 49:14 offers profound solace and challenge to the contemporary believer. It reminds us that moments of deep spiritual desolation, where God feels distant, silent, or even absent, are not unique to ancient Israel but are a common and often painful part of the human spiritual journey. The Bible, far from presenting a sanitized or idealized faith, openly records the raw cries of doubt and despair from its most faithful figures, thereby validating our own struggles and giving us permission to be honest before God. This verse encourages us to bring our most honest laments before God, even when they express profound questioning of His presence or care. The immediate divine response in the subsequent verses demonstrates that God hears and responds to such cries, often with an overwhelming outpouring of grace, reassurance, and tender compassion. Therefore, while our feelings of abandonment may be intensely real, they do not define God's unchanging character or His enduring covenant commitment to us. Our faith is not ultimately in our fluctuating feelings, but in the faithful God who, though we may feel forgotten, never forgets His covenant people and His unbreakable promises.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why would Zion, representing God's chosen people, express such a profound sense of abandonment?
Answer: Zion's lament in Isaiah 49:14 stems from the devastating historical reality of the Babylonian exile. The destruction of Jerusalem, the Temple, and the forced displacement of the people led to a profound crisis of faith and national identity. In their cultural context, such national catastrophe could be interpreted as a sign that their God had either been defeated by foreign deities or had definitively abandoned them due to their sin. Despite God's covenant promises of protection and presence, the prolonged suffering, the loss of their land, and the apparent divine silence caused the people to question His presence and faithfulness. This expression is a raw, honest reflection of human despair when circumstances seem to contradict divine assurances, a common theme found throughout the Psalms and prophetic literature (e.g., Psalm 44).
What is the significance of the two different divine titles, "The LORD" (Yahweh) and "my Lord" (Adonai), in this single verse?
Answer: The use of "The LORD" (Yᵉhôvâh, H3068) and "my Lord" (ʼĂdônây, H136) in Isaiah 49:14 is highly significant and intentional. "The LORD" (Yahweh) is God's covenant name, emphasizing His unchanging, self-existent nature and His specific, historical relationship with Israel as their covenant-keeping God. When Zion says "The LORD hath forsaken me," it's a profound accusation against the very core of His covenant faithfulness and His identity as the God who delivers. "My Lord" (Adonai) is a title emphasizing God's sovereignty, mastership, and authority, often used in a more personal, reverential context, acknowledging His absolute rule. The pairing of these titles underscores the comprehensive nature of Zion's perceived abandonment: both the covenant-keeping God and the sovereign master have, in their view, forgotten them. This powerful parallelism intensifies the lament, highlighting that every aspect of their relationship with God feels broken and that there is no recourse left.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Isaiah 49:14, with Zion's poignant cry of being forsaken and forgotten, finds its ultimate and most profound Christ-centered fulfillment in the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ. While Zion's lament was a deeply felt perceived abandonment rooted in suffering, Jesus, on the cross, experienced actual divine forsaking for the sake of humanity's sin, crying out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" as recorded in Matthew 27:46. This agonizing cry from the Son of God, who perfectly embodied Israel and bore the weight of its (and humanity's) sin, reveals the unfathomable depth of the Father's turning away from sin, making atonement for the very "forgetfulness" and "forsaking" that Zion lamented. Through Christ's ultimate sacrifice, God demonstrates that He has not forgotten His people, but rather, in His infinite love and justice, provided the means for their eternal remembrance and restoration. The New Covenant, established through Christ's blood, guarantees that God will "remember their sins no more" (Hebrews 8:12), signifying not His forgetfulness of His people, but His active choice to forgive, cleanse, and eternally embrace. Thus, Zion's lament, and God's subsequent tender reassurance in Isaiah, ultimately point forward to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), ensuring that those who are "in Christ" are eternally remembered and never truly forsaken by their Heavenly Father (Romans 8:38-39).