Isa. 56 Blessedness of the godly, without any respect of persons, Isa. 56:1–8. Blind watchmen shall be destroyed, Isa. 56:9–12.

This verse and the rest of this chapter, until verse 9, seems to belong to the foregoing prophecy. From the consideration of God’s promises made to them he moveth them to perform their duty to him.

Blessed is the man; every man, not only Jews, but Gentiles, or strangers, as it is explained in the following verses. That were this; judgment and justice, mentioned Isa. 56:1.

The son of the stranger; the stranger, as the son of man is the same with the man, Isa. 56:2; the Gentile, who by birth is a stranger to God, and to the commonwealth of Israel.

Choose the things that please me; that observe my commands, not by custom, or force, or fear, but by free choice, and full consent, with love to them and delight in them. Take hold of my covenant; that resolvedly and stedfastly keep the conditions of my covenant.

In mine house; in my temple, to serve me there as priests, which eunuchs were not allowed to do, Lev. 21:17;c. Deut. 23:1. Within my walls; in the courts of my temple, which were encompassed with walls.

That join themselves to the Lord; that with purpose of heart cleave unto him, as is said, Acts 11:23. To serve him, and to love the name of the Lord; to serve him out of love to him, and to his worship.

To my holy mountain; to my house, as it is explained in the following clause, which stood upon Mount Zion, largely so called, including Mount Moriah. Formerly the Gentiles neither had any desire to come thither, nor were admitted there; but now I will incline their hearts to come, and I will give…

Which gathereth the outcasts of Israel; which will gather to himself, and bring into their own land, those poor Israelites which are, or shall be, cast out of their own land, and from God’s presence, and dispersed in divers parts of the world.

This invitation or proclamation is a prediction of Israel’s destruction by their cruel enemies, which are oft expressed in Scripture under the names of ravenous beasts.

His; Israel’s, as is evident from the following verses; the pronoun relative being put without and instead of the antecedent; of which I have given divers instances before. Watchmen; priests and prophets, or other teachers, who are commonly called watchmen, as Ezek. 3:17, Ezek. 33:2, Hos. 9:8.

Greedy dogs which can never have enough; insatiably covetous. That cannot understand, Heb. that know not to understand; that do not care, or love, or desire (as knowing is frequently taken) either to understand the law or word of God themselves, or to make the people to understand it.

Say they, unto their brethren, by office and in iniquity; unto their fellow priests, or other jolly companions. We will fill ourselves; we will drink not only to delight, but even to drunkenness, as the word signifies, Nah. 1:10, and elsewhere.