Isaiah 51:1

“Hearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness, &c.] After having declared the doom of the wicked, and those that trust to their own righteousness, the Lord returns to them that fear him, whom he describes as such that “follow after righteousness”; not the righteousness of the law, it is the character of carnal Israel to follow after that; nor is that attainable in the way it is pursued by such; nor is there any justification by it; nor is following that consistent with seeking the Lord, in the next clause: but the righteousness of Christ is meant; not his essential righteousness as God; nor the righteousness of his office as Mediator; but that which consists of his active and passive…”

“ENCOURAGEMENT TO THE FAITHFUL REMNANT OF ISRAEL TO TRUST IN GOD FOR DELIVERANCE, BOTH FROM THEIR LONG BABYLONIAN EXILE, AND FROM THEIR PRESENT DISPERSION. (Isa. 51:1-23) me--the God of your fathers. ye . . . follow after righteousness--the godly portion of the nation; Isa 51:7 shows this (Pro 15:9; Ti1 6:11). "Ye follow righteousness," seek it therefore from Me, who "bring it near," and that a righteousness "not about to be abolished" (Isa 51:6-7); look to Abraham, your father (Isa 51:2), as a sample of how righteousness before Me is to be obtained; I, the same God who blessed him, will bless you at last (Isa 51:3); therefore trust in Me, and fear not man's opposition (Isa 51:7-8, Isa…”

“Hearken unto me - That is, to the God of their fathers, who now addresses them. They are regarded as in exile and bondage, and as desponding in regard to their prospects. In this situation, God, or perhaps more properly the Messiah (compare the notes at Isaiah 1:0), is introduced as addressing them with the assurances of deliverance. Ye that follow after righteousness - This is addressed evidently to those who sought to be righteous, and who truly feared the Lord. There was a portion of the nation that continued faithful to Yahweh. They still loved and worshipped him in exile, and they were anxiously looking for deliverance and for a return to their own land. Look unto the rock whence ye are…”

“Look - Consider the state of Abraham and Sarah, from whom all of you sprang. Isaiah 51:2”

“51:1-8 This prophecy calls for trust in the Lord. Each of its three units begins with the phrase, Listen to me (51:1, 4, 7). 51:1 The rock and the quarry represent Abraham and Sarah (51:2).”

“Hearken: Isa 51:4, Isa 51:7, Isa 46:3, Isa 46:4, Isa 48:12, Isa 55:2, Isa 55:3 ye that follow: Isa 51:7; Psa 94:15; Pro 15:9, Pro 21:21; Mat 5:6, Mat 6:33; Rom 9:30-32, Rom 14:19; Phi 3:13; Ti1 6:11; Ti2 2:22; Heb 12:14 ye that seek: Isa 45:19, Isa 55:6; Psa 24:6, Psa 105:3, Psa 105:4; Amo 5:6; Zep 2:3 look: Gen 17:15-17; Eph 2:11, Eph 2:12 Next: Isaiah Chapter 52”

“The prophetic address now turns again from the despisers of the word, whom it has threatened with the torment of fire, to those who long for salvation. "Hearken to me, ye that are in pursuit of righteousness, ye that seek Jehovah. Look up to the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hollow of the pit whence ye are dug. Look up toe Abraham your forefather, and to Sara who bare you, that he was one when I called him, and blessed him, and multiplied him. For Jehovah hath comforted Zion, comforted all her ruins, and turned her desert like Eden, and her steppe as into the garden of God; joy and gladness are found in her, thanksgiving and sounding music." The prophecy is addressed to those who are…”