Isa. 11 Christ, a Branch out of the root of Jesse, endued with the Spirit of the Lord, should set up a kingdom by the preaching of his word, Isa. 19:1–5. The members of his church should live in peace and unity, Isa.

The prophet having despatched the Assyrian, and comforted God’s people with the promise of their deliverance from that formidable enemy, now he proceeds further, and declares that God will do greater things than that for them, that he will give them their long-expected and much desired Messiah, and…

The Spirit of the Lord; the Holy Ghost, wherewith he was anointed, Acts 10:38, and by whom his mother was overshadowed, Luke 1:35. Shall rest upon him; not only come upon him at certain times, as he did upon the prophets now and then at his pleasure, but shall have its constant and settled abode in…

Shall make him of quick understanding, Heb. he shall make him smell, i.e. perceive, as that word is used, Judg. 16:9, Job 39:25; understand or judge, as it is explained in the next clause. Or, his smelling shall be.

Judge the poor; defend and deliver them, as judging is oft used, as Deut. 32:36, Jer. 5:28, Jer. 22:16;c. Or, judge for the poor; the prefix lamed being understood out of the next clause, as is usual in the Hebrew language.

Shall be the girdle of his loins; it shall adorn him, and be the glory of his government, as a girdle was used for ornament, Isa. 3:24, and as an ensign of power, Job 12:18; and it shall constantly cleave to him, in all his administrations, as a girdle cleaveth to a man’s loins, which is the…

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, & c.; the creatures shall be restored to that state of innocency in which they were before the fall of man. But this is not to be understood literally, which is a gross and vain conceit of some Jews; but spiritually and metaphorically, as is evident.

Shall feed together, as it follows, without any danger or fear. The lion shall eat straw, the grass and fruits of the earth, as they did at first, Gen. 1:29–30, and shall not devour other living creatures, as now they do.

The asp; a most fierce and poisonous serpent, Deut. 32:33, Job 20:14, Job 20:16, which also will not be charmed by any art of man, Ps. 58:5. The cockatrice; a serpent of more than ordinary cunning and cruelty, Prov. 23:32.

In my holy mountain; in Zion, in my church. Wherever the gospel comes and prevails, it will have this effect. The earth; metonymically put for the inhabitants of the earth; and as before it was used for the greater part, Isa. 11:4, so here it is used for the better part of the world.

A root; a branch growing upon the root; of which see on Isa. 11:1. Shall stand for an ensign; shall grow up into a great and high tree, shall become a visible and eminent ensign. Of the people; which not only the Jews, but all nations may discern, and to which they may and shall resort.

The second time: the first time, to which this word second relates, seems to be, either, 1. The deliverance out of Egypt, as most both Jewish and Christian interpreters understand it; and then this second deliverance must be that out of Babylon. Or, 2.

For the nations; all nations, Jews and Gentiles, who shall then embrace the true faith and the Messiah, as was said, Isa. 11:10. The outcasts; that were driven and banished out of their own land into foreign parts, as the word implies.

Of Ephraim, i.e. of the ten tribes, frequently called by the name of Ephraim, as hath been already and frequently observed, between whom and Judah there were great emulations and contentions. Shall depart; of enemies they shall be made friends, and of wolves lambs, as was said before on Isa.

Shall fly upon the shoulders; either it is a metaphor from birds and beasts of prey, which commonly fasten upon the shoulders of cattle; or from wrestlers, who endeavour to catch hold of their adversaries’ shoulders, that they may throw them down. Or, shoulder is put for a side, as Num.

Shall utterly destroy; shall not only divide it, as of old, but will quite dry it up, that it may be a highway, as it is explained in the next verse. The tongue of the Egyptian sea; the Red Sea, which may well be called the Egyptian sea, both because it borders upon Egypt, and because the Egyptians…

From Assyria; as there was another highway from Egypt in the former verse. So the sense is, that all impediments shall be removed, and a way made for the return of God’s Israel from all parts of the world.