Isaiah 49:13
Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
It summons heaven and earth and the mountains to break into joyful song because the Lord has comforted His people and will have mercy on His afflicted with deliverance and tender care worthy of praise from all creation. That comfort and mercy are true and righteous, not an empty tantalizing of hope, because God Himself is true and righteous. It answers Zion when she fears she is forsaken and forgotten, assuring her that He has not forgotten her but has graven her upon the palms of His hands, keeps her ever before Him, and holds her precious. The comfort comes bound up with preserving and freeing His people, feeding and guiding them, and gathering them from far off and distant lands. It stands as instruction for His messengers today to abide in the Word with much prayer and growing spirituality, so that by the Spirit they may be made effective in restoring Israel, being a light to the Gentiles, carrying His salvation to the ends of the earth, and comforting His people with mercy to His afflicted.
Rejoicing in Divine Comfort
The heavens are summoned to sing, the earth to be joyful, and the mountains to break forth into singing because the Lord has comforted His people and will have mercy on His afflicted. That comfort brings deliverance and that mercy brings care to those who suffer affliction, and together they gather, guide, preserve, free, and feed His people. Such comfort and mercy are grounds for praise, and the call for heaven, earth, and mountains to rejoice shows that all creation is to rejoice in that care.
The comfort and mercy promised are true and righteous, and not a tantalizing of His people, because God Himself is true and righteous.
Assurance to Forsaken Zion
The summons to rejoice answers Zion's complaint and fear that she is forsaken and forgotten. Though she says she has been abandoned, God assures her that He will not forget her. He has graven her upon the palms of His hands. He keeps her continually in view and holds her as precious to Him.
The comfort stands between and alongside His promise to preserve, free, feed, guide, and gather His people from far. It accompanies the gathering of people from distant lands with His care and guidance for them. In that surrounding promise He gathers and guides them.
The comfort belongs to God's continuing work of redeeming His people and carrying it forward in His appointed way. That work goes on even when self-interest among believers obstructs the message and weakens its power among those entrusted to share it. Those who remain faithful share in the triumph of His redemption.
Work for Today
The verse belongs to the showing of the way in which Christlike attributes of character may be obtained. It is part of Isaiah's teaching about the work God's people are to do. It is set before those who claim to respect the law of Jehovah. It is a word of the Lord to be spoken with great power under the Spirit of God.
Isaiah 48 and 49 portray the work of God's messengers today. Ministers at this time are to read these chapters prayerfully to learn what it means to keep their lamps trimmed and burning. They are to confine themselves to the ministry of the Word, to pray much and meditate on the Word, and to grow in spirituality and knowledge of God and Christ. Then angels will cooperate with them and the Spirit of God will teach them and make them efficient in raising up and restoring Israel, in being a light to the Gentiles and God's salvation to the end of the earth, in comforting His people and showing mercy to His afflicted.
The verse foretells the work of presenting the warning message to the world and giving the reason for belief. That presentation is to be made especially through camp meetings where the world can get the information it desires. The work includes spending money to present truth and establishing sanitariums in different parts of the world as an educating power to reform the people and restore the moral image of God in them. It brings conversion through knowledge of the Word unto wider spreading of truth. It arouses slumbering senses to see how far they have departed from the Lord's ordinances by adopting worldly policy and conforming to worldly principles into transgression against the law of God.