13 "The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the fir tree, the pine, and the box tree together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
The glory of Lebanon. Isaiah again employs the metaphor which he formerly used, when he compared the Church of God to a building or a city. He enumerates those things which were necessary for building, such as "the fir-tree, the pine, and the box-tree," which grew in Lebanon, a forest abounding, as we know, in excellent trees. For the beauty of the place of my holiness. He means that all that is excellent and beautiful in Lebanon shall be carried into the Church. But it must be believed that these figures contain an emblematical reference to the spiritual worship of God; for the Lord adorns his Church with the title of a sanctuary, because he dwells in the midst of it. Yet he always alludes to the temple, so as to accommodate himself to the time and to ordinary custom. Thus he holds out to us the pattern of the temple which stood at Jerusalem, that under the image of it we may contemplate the "spiritual temple," (Ephesians 2:21) of which we are the "living stones" and the living substance. (1-Peter 2:5) For I will glorify the place of my feet. By "the place of his feet," he means that he dwells in the temple in such a manner that his majesty is not confined within it, (for he is not limited to so narrow a place;) and therefore his feet only, what may be called the smallest part, is there, that we may ascend to heaven, and not fix our whole attention on those outward signs by which we are instructed according to our capacity. Thus also in the Psalm, "Worship the footstool of his feet, for it is holy." (Psalm 99:5) And again, "We will worship in the place where his feet stood." (Psalm 132:7) Not that God's essence is divided into parts above and below, [1] but because by such means he lifts up his servants, as it were, from the feet to the head.
1 - "L'une au ciel, l'autre en terre." "One in heaven, another on earth."
The glory of Lebanon - The 'glory of Lebanon,' here means the trees that grew on Lebanon (see the notes at Isaiah 35:2).
Shall come unto thee - That is, thy beauty and glory will be as great as if those valuable trees were brought and planted around the temple.
The fir-tree - (See the notes at Isaiah 41:19; Isaiah 55:13).
The box - (See also the notes at Isaiah 41:19).
To beautify the place of my sanctuary - The site of the temple, as if they were planted around it, and as if the magnificence of Lebanon was transferred there at once. The idea is, that the most valuable and glorious objects in distant nations would be consecrated to the service of the true God.
And I will make the place of my feet glorious - Lowth renders this, 'I will glorify the place whereon I rest my feet;' and he supposes thai the ark is meant as the place on which God rested his feet as a footstool. In support of this, he appeals to Psalm 99:5, 'Worship at his footstool;' and 1-Chronicles 28:2. So Rosenmuller understands it, and appeals further to Psalm 132:7. Doubtless the main idea is, that the temple was regarded as the sacred dwelling-place of God - and that he means to say, that every place in his temple, even where, to keep up the figure, he rested his feet when he sat on the throne, would be filled with magnificence and glory.
And I will make the place of my feet glorious "And that I may glorify the place whereon I rest my feet" - The temple of Jerusalem was called the house of God, and the place of his rest or residence. The visible symbolical appearance of God, called by the Jews the schechinah, was in the most holy place, between the wings of the cherubim, above the ark. This is considered as the throne of God, presiding as King over the Jewish state; and as a footstool is a necessary appendage to a throne, (see note on Isaiah 52:2 (note)), the ark is considered as the footstool of God, and is so called, Psalm 99:6; 1-Chronicles 28:2.
The glory of Lebanon - That is, the cedar.
The (n) glory of Lebanon shall come to thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my (o) feet glorious.
(n) There is nothing so excellent which will not serve the needs of the Church.
(o) Signifying that God's majesty is not included in the temple, which is but the place for his feet, that we may learn to rise to the heavens.
The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee,.... Which are the trees that grew upon it, especially the cedars, for which it was famous, as well as the other trees after mentioned. Now, as these were brought into Solomon's temple, and used in the building of that, 1-Kings 6:9, so such shall come of themselves, willingly and cheerfully, being drawn with the cords of love, into the church of Christ, comparable to the tall and strong cedars of Lebanon, and other trees, being eminent for their gifts and graces, and strong in the exercise of them; the more feeble among them being as the house of David, and that as the Angel of the Lord; and being durable, constant, and immovable in the work of the Lord; pillars in his house that shall never go out; ever green and flourishing; never wither in their profession, and always fruitful in every good word and work; of a good smell in the exercise of grace; of savoury conversations, and of a good report in the world; see Psalm 107:12,
the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together; which may denote persons of different ranks and sizes, both as to worldly and spiritual affairs; and yet will all agree to come together to the church, and will unite in the service and worship of God in it, and be a real glory to it; see Isaiah 41:19,
to beautify the place of my sanctuary; the church, so called in allusion to the tabernacle and temple; and thus the Targum here,
"the place of the house of my sanctuary;''
where the holy God dwells; and which is sanctified by him, and where he is sanctified, and worshipped in a holy and spiritual manner; and which will be beautified in the latter day, when the saints that will come into the church will put on by faith more manifestly the beautiful garments of Christ's righteousness; and be more visibly adorned with the graces of his Spirit, which will shine like so many brilliant diamonds and sparkling gems; and will appear in the beauties of a holy conversation; walk in brotherly love with each other, and unite in sentiments of doctrine, and in acts of Gospel worship; and when the Gospel shall be purely and powerfully preached; the ordinances administered as they were in the times of Christ and his apostles; and Gospel discipline in all its branches restored:
and I will make the place of my feet glorious; alluding to the ark under the mercy seat, over which were the cherubim, and between which Jehovah dwelt, hence called his footstool, 1-Chronicles 28:2, denoting that the church is the place where the Lord grants his presence through Christ, the antitype of the mercy seat and ark; and which is the seat of his rest and residence; where he takes his walks, and where his footsteps of rich grace are seen; where his lower parts, his feet, his works, and acts of grace, are beheld; where he favours with communion with himself; where his power and glory are observed, and his beauty is upon his people; where they see the King in his beauty, and all which will be more manifestly enjoyed in the latter day, and make his church very glorious indeed.
glory--that is, the trees which adorned Lebanon; emblem of men eminent in natural gifts, devoting all that is in them to the God of Israel (Hosea 14:5-6).
fir . . . pine . . . box--rather, "the cypress . . . ilex . . . cedar."
place of my sanctuary--Jerusalem (Jeremiah 3:17).
place of my feet--no longer the ark (Jeremiah 3:16), "the footstool" of Jehovah (Psalm 99:5; Psalm 132:7; 1-Chronicles 28:2); but "the place of His throne, the place of the soles of His feet, where He will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever," in the new temple (Ezekiel 43:7).
From the thought that everything great in the world of man is to be made to serve the Holy One and His church, the prophet passes to what is great in the world of nature. "The glory of Lebanon will come to thee, cypresses, plane-trees and Sherbin-trees all together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary, and to make the place of my feet glorious." The splendid cedars, which are the glory of Lebanon, and in fact the finest trees of all kinds, will be brought to Zion, not as trunks felled to be used as building materials, but dug up with their roots, to ornament the holy place of the temple (Jeremiah 17:12), and also to this end, that Jehovah may glorify the "holy place of His feet," i.e., the place where He, who towers above the heaven of all heavens, has as it were to place His feet. The temple is frequently called His footstool (hadōm raglâiv), with especial reference to the ark of the covenant (Psalm 99:5; Psalm 132:7; Lamentations 2:1; 1-Chronicles 28:2) as being the central point of the earthly presence of God (cf., Isaiah 66:1). The trees, that is to say, which tower in regal glory above all the rest of the vegetable world, are to adorn the environs of the temple, so that avenues of cedars and plane-trees lead into it; a proof that there is no more fear of any further falling away to idolatry. On the names of the trees, see Isaiah 41:19. Three kinds are mentioned here; we found seven there. The words יחדו ותשׁור תדהר ברושׁ are repeated verbatim from Isaiah 41:19.
The glory - The box, the fir, the pine, and the cedar, on account whereof Lebanon was so famous; kings and great ones, the glory of the world, and also persons of a lower rank, shall be the materials, and members of Christ's church. To beautify - This is the reason and end why the glory of Lebanon is to be brought hither; by these trees understand the beauty, and nobility of the church. Sanctuary - The temple wherein was the sanctuary. The place of my feet - The ark, so called, because, supposing God after the manner of men, to sit between the wings of the cherubim, his feet would rest upon the ark. All this is made good in the gospel - church.
*More commentary available at chapter level.