Isaiah 56:1 - Meaning and Application

The point of these verses is to show that when God comes to us in mercy, we should go out to meet him in duty.

I. God first tells us his merciful purpose toward us (Isaiah 56:1): “My salvation is near to come.” This is the great salvation brought by Jesus Christ, the salvation the prophets searched into carefully (1 Peter 1:10). It was also pictured in earlier acts of deliverance, like the rescue from Sennacherib or the return from Babylon. The gospel salvation is God’s own salvation. He planned it and brought it about, and he takes glory in it as his own work. In that salvation, God’s righteousness is revealed, which is one of the great beauties of the gospel, as Paul says in Romans 1:17. The law showed God’s righteousness in a way that condemned sinners, but the gospel shows God’s righteousness in a way that justifies, meaning declares righteous, all who believe.

The saints of the Old Testament saw this salvation coming long before it arrived. The prophets had told them it was near. Daniel understood from Jeremiah’s writings that the return from Babylon was approaching after seventy years, and in a similar way others understood from Daniel’s writings that our redemption through Christ was drawing near at the end of seventy weeks of years.

II. God also tells us what he expects from us because of this mercy. We must not say, “Since salvation is near, we can live however we want, because there is no danger of missing it.” That would be turning God’s grace into reckless behavior. Instead, when salvation is near, we should watch ourselves all the more closely against sin. The more fully God assures us that he will keep his promises, the stronger the duty he lays on us to obey. The salvation spoken of here has now come, yet because a fuller salvation still lies ahead, the apostle uses the same reason to press duty on Christians: “Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Romans 13:11).

What is required to prepare us for this approaching salvation is, first, that we be honest and fair in all our dealings. “Keep justice and do what is right.” Walk by rule, and be careful about what you say and do, so that you wrong no one. Give every person what is due to them. When you claim what others owe you, keep fairness in mind and do not be harsh. Live by the rule, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Magistrates must carry out justice wisely and faithfully. This kind of conduct proves that our faith and repentance are sincere, and it opens the way for mercy. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” God is faithful to us, so let us be faithful to one another.

Second, we must carefully observe the Sabbath day, Isaiah 56:2. We are not acting justly if we rob God of his time. Keeping the Sabbath holy stands here for all our duties toward God, that is, the fruits of our love for him. In the same way, justice and judgment stand for all our duties toward our neighbor, the fruits of our love for others. The duty itself is to keep the Sabbath, to guard it as something precious entrusted to us. Keep it holy. Keep it safe. Keep it from being polluted. Do not let yourself or others break the holy rest or neglect the holy work of that day.

If this is aimed first at the Jews in Babylon, it was fitting to remind them especially of this duty. Since they were far from the temple and could not carry out the other parts of their law, they could still show that they belonged to God by honoring his day and setting it apart from other days. But because the command is given more generally to “man” and “the son of man,” it also shows that Sabbath keeping should remain a duty in gospel times, when the church is enlarged and other ceremonies have passed away. Those who would keep the Sabbath from being polluted must be firm and careful. They must not only begin this duty, but take hold of it and hold on. Sabbath time is precious, but it slips away quickly unless we guard it well.

There is also encouragement to obey this duty: “Blessed is the man who does this.” If we want God’s blessing on our work through the week, we must make Sabbath keeping a serious matter. And by doing that, we will be better prepared to do justice and judgment. The more godliness there is, the more honesty there will be (Titus 2:2).

Third, we must have nothing to do with sin. “Blessed is the man who keeps his hand from doing any evil.” That includes wrong against a neighbor in body, property, or reputation. More broadly, it means anything that displeases God and harms our own souls. The best proof that we have kept the Sabbath well is that we are careful to keep a good conscience all week. Then it will show that we have been with God, as when Moses came down from the mountain and his face shone before the people.