Isaiah 51

“For the LORD comforts Zion; he comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the LORD” (v3). Though the Babylonians were dominating, God promised that “joy and gladness” would return to His people (v3). His salvation was “forever,” more permanent and more global than Israel believed: “the coastlands hope for Me” (v5). Through the Messiah, God promised to renew the dry, thirsty world, making all the earth “Zion.”

“And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads …” (v11). The sorrow and sighing of this world won’t last forever; those who trust in Jesus will experience “everlasting joy” in Zion.