Isaiah 49:9

“That thou mayest say to the prisoners, go forth, &c.] God’s covenant people, while unconverted, are prisoners; they are in the prison of sin, under the power and dominion of it, and under the guilt of it, and obligation to punishment for it; and they are in the prison of the law, they are transgressors of it, and are accused and convicted by it, and are condemned, and put in prison, and held there; and they are also Satan’s prisoners, and are held and led captive by him at his will; and by virtue of the covenant, and the blood of it, these prisoners are set free; and Christ in the. Gospel speaks unto them, and proclaims liberty to them; and by the knowledge of the truth they are made free,…”

“(Isa 42:7; Zac 9:12). prisoners--the Jews bound in legal bondage. them . . . in darkness--the Gentiles having no light as to the one true God [VITRINGA]. Show yourselves--not only see but be seen (Mat 5:16; Mar 5:19). Come forth from the darkness of your prison into the light of the Sun of righteousness. in the ways, &c.--In a desert there are no "ways," nor "high places," with "pastures"; thus the sense is: "They shall have their pastures, not in deserts, but in cultivated and inhabited places." Laying aside the figure, the churches of Christ at the first shall be gathered, not in obscure and unknown regions, but in the most populous parts of the Roman empire, Antioch, Alexandria, Rome, &c.…”

“That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth - This language occurs also in Isaiah 42:7. For an explanation of it, see the notes on that place. To them that are in darkness - Synonymous with being prisoners, as prisoners are usually confined in dark cells. Show yourselves - Hebrew, ‘Reveal,’ or manifest yourselves; that is, as those who come out of a dark cell come into light, so do you, who have been confined in the darkness of sin, come forth into the light of the Sun of righteousness, and be manifest as the redeemed. They shall feed in the ways - In the remainder of this verse, and in the following verses, the Messiah is represented under the image of a shepherd, who leads forth his…”

“Prisoners - To the Gentiles who are fast bound by the cords of their sins, and taken captive by the devil at his will. Go forth - Come forth to the light, receive divine illumination. In high places - They shall have abundant provision in all places, yea even in those which commonly are unfruitful, such are both common roads and high grounds. Isaiah 49:11”

“to the: Isa 42:7, Isa 61:1; Psa 69:33, Psa 102:20, Psa 107:10-16, Psa 146:7; Zac 9:11, Zac 9:12; Luk 4:18; Col 1:13; Pe1 2:9 to them: Isa 9:2, Isa 42:16, Isa 60:1, Isa 60:2; Luk 1:79; Joh 8:12; Act 26:18; Co2 4:4-6; Eph 5:8, Eph 5:14; Th1 5:5, Th1 5:6 They shall feed: Isa 5:17, Isa 55:1, Isa 55:2, Isa 65:13; Psa 22:26, Psa 23:1, Psa 23:2; Eze 34:13-15, Eze 34:23, Eze 34:29; Joe 3:18; Joh 6:53-58, Joh 10:9 high: Deu 32:13 Isaiah 49:10”