For a, small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee.

“I seem, indeed, to hear that voice from him who gathers together those who are broken and welcomes the oppressed.… The measure of his kindness exceeds the measure of his discipline. The former things were owing to our wickedness, the present things to the adorable Trinity, the former for our cleansing, the present for my Glory.”

“Sing, O barren one. Here, against the casting down of things, he promises the remedy of exaltation: and first he promises a multitude against a paucity; second, the restoration of honor against confusion, do not fear; third, prosperity against former adversity, poor little one. Concerning the first he does three things. First he foretells the multitude of children, indicating the praise of thanksgiving: "O barren one" — Jerusalem, who do not bear; "because forsaken" — deserted; "sing" — to God, for the benefits granted. The gladness of those who praise: "sing forth praise" — for a song is the exultation of the mind broken forth into voice; and the greatness of the gladness: "neigh" — in the manner of a horse, unable because of the greatness to form a voice to express it. Jer. 31: Exult in gladness, Jacob. Ps. 146: Let praise of our God be pleasant and comely. And promising the multitude of children: "because many" — as if to say, your children will be multiplied more, although you are deserted, than that of the cities which have husbands for begetting. 1 Reg. 2: until the barren woman has borne very many, and she who had many children is weakened. Second he exhorts to the enlargement of the place, under the metaphor of a tent: "enlarge the place" — as to the ground on which it is extended; "the skins" — by which it is covered; "the cords" — by which the pegs are bound; "the nails" — by which the boards are joined, or the pegs themselves. And these are read to have been in the tabernacle of the covenant: Exod. 26, and 36. On account of this multitude of men it is fitting to seek a greater dwelling than the land of promise is. Above, 49: still the children of barrenness say, etc. Third he foretells the fulfillment of the exhortation: "for to the right hand" — as if to say, you shall spread yourself on every side: which was fulfilled in the time of the Maccabees, when certain cities from the region of Samaria, and from others, were added to the kingdom of the Jews. Gen. 24: may your seed possess the gates of your enemies. Do not fear. Here he promises the restoration of former honor, against the confusion which they had previously endured. Second, the firmness of the promise: as in the days of Noah. Concerning the first he does two things. First he promises the forgetting of the former confusion: "you shall not be confounded" — inwardly; "you shall not blush" — outwardly. "You shall be ashamed" — from the consideration of your baseness; "you shall forget" — because of the abundance of glory; "of youth" — when you sinned in the desert; "of widowhood" — when you were separated from God in the captivity of Babylon. Above, 45: you shall not be confounded, nor shall you blush. Sopho. 3: in that day you shall not be confounded for all your devisings. Second he promises the restoration of former honor: and first he sets down the restoration as to dominion, "because he shall rule"; above, 26: O Lord, they have possessed us; and as to marriage, "a forsaken wife." Jerem. 3: if a man put away his wife, and she depart from him and marry another man, shall she return to him any more? Second he promises the enlargement of honor as to the multitude of honors: "says the Lord" — "in a little" — you have suffered little in respect of the things which I, having mercy, shall bestow on you. 2 Corinth. 4: for that which is at present is momentary. And as to duration, "in a moment" — as if to say: for a brief time you have felt my anger, in respect of that in which I will have mercy on you. Above, 26: hide yourself a little while. But all these things that have been said are expounded mystically of the calling of the Gentiles: because the Gentile world, barren at first, afterward gathered many children, according to the Gloss. As in the days. Here he shows the firmness of the promise. And first from the likeness of the former promise: "I have sworn" — I have firmly determined, provided, however, that you remain in my precepts. Gen. 9: I will establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you. Eccli. 44: the covenants of the age. Second, from the working of stable creatures: "for the mountains" — as if to say: it is easier for mountains and hills to be changed than for my words to be made void. Or by mountains and hills, the powerful of the world. Ps. 45: we will not fear, while the earth is troubled. Note on that word, "sing, O barren one," that there is a barrenness, first, of perverse action. Job 15: the congregation of the hypocrite is barren. Second, of sacred contemplation. Genes. 29: Rachel was barren. Third, of temporal tribulation. Above, 49: the children of barrenness shall still say in your ears. Likewise note, on that phrase "enlarge the tent," that the heart must be enlarged, first, on account of the greatness of the guest. Jerem. 23: do not I fill heaven and earth, says the Lord? Second, on account of the multitude of gifts. Below, 60: you shall see, and abound, and your heart shall be enlarged. Third, on account of the fulfilling of the way. Psalm. 118: I have run the way of your commandments. Likewise on that phrase "in great mercies," that the mercies to come are great: first because they are intrinsic. Rom. 8: I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared to the glory to come that shall be revealed in us. Second, because they are eternal. 2 Cor. 4: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. Third, because they are perfect. Luc. 1: for behold, from now on all generations shall call me blessed. Fourth, because they are extended to many. Luc. 14: a certain man made a great supper, and invited many. Fifth, because they are whole. Apoc. 21: God shall wipe away every tear from the eyes of the saints. Poor little one. Here he promises prosperity against adversity: and first he recalls the former adversity: "poor little one" — Jerusalem despoiled of goods; "by tempest" — by adversity. Above, 18: to a nation rent and torn I will send you. Second he promises future prosperity, both as to the abundance of goods, setting forth a metaphor: "behold I will lay" — as it were in a pavement, by the "stones," "precious," signifying men eminent in virtues, "in order," each one in his own order: Tob. 13: the gates of Jerusalem; and explaining it as to the doctrine of divine knowledge: "all" — Jer. 31: I will give my law in their bowels, and write it in their heart. As to the abundance of peace: "multitude." Psalm. 118: much peace have they that love your law. And as to the justice of works: "and in justice." Above, 1: Sion shall be redeemed in judgment; and they shall bring her back in justice. Second, as to the freedom from evils, promising first the escape from dangers: "depart" — that is, you shall depart, because you shall not suffer calumny. Ps. 71: he shall humble the slanderers. Second, the adherence of strangers: "behold, the sojourner" — because many from among the Gentiles going forth from captivity adhered. Below, 56: let not the son of the stranger, who adheres to the Lord, say: the Lord will divide me by separation from his people. Third, promising the destruction of enemies: "behold I." And first he shows the power of the one promising, setting forth a comparison: "the smith" — the persecutor, who blows upon the vessels in the fire of tribulation, adversaries, according to his own will: Job 41: his breath, coals; and explaining it: "I have created." 1 Reg. 2: the Lord kills and makes alive. Second he sets forth the promise: "every vessel" — that is, he will scatter every thing formed, as to those who assail by deeds; and "every tongue," as to those who assail by words. Above, 41: and they shall be as if they were not.”

“For a small moment have I forsaken thee,.... The people of God seem to be forsaken by him when he hides his face from them, as it is afterwards explained; when they are in distress, and he does not immediately appear for them; when they are afflicted in body and mind, though these afflictions are but for a moment; nor are they really forsaken, not as to things temporal or spiritual; God never forsakes the work of his own hands, nor his people, at least for ever, or so as that they shall perish. Some interpret this of the seventy years' captivity of the Jews in Babylon, which was but a very short time; others of the times of ignorance in the Gentile world before the coming of Christ, which God winked at, when he overlooked them, and took no notice of them; but I choose to understand it of the time and state of the Christian church, during the ten persecutions of Rome Pagan, when it seemed to be forsaken of God, and to be triumphed over by her enemies: but with great mercies will I gather thee; they had been scattered about by persecution, but now should be gathered together in bodies, and have their public assemblies, and worship God openly, none making them afraid; which was fulfilled in Constantine's time, when Paganism was abolished, and Christianity established throughout the Roman empire; when public places for Christian worship were opened everywhere, the Gospel was freely preached, and multitudes were gathered by effectual calling, and brought into the Gospel church, which was now in a very flourishing condition; for this is not to be understood of the gathering of the captive Jews from Babylon, nor of the calling of the Gentiles by the ministry of the apostles, nor of the restoration and conversion of the Jews in the latter day, though this is more eligible than the former, and much less of the gathering of the saints at the last day.”

“Thus does Jehovah's displeasure towards Jerusalem pass quickly away; and all the more intense is the manifestation of love which follows His merely momentary anger. "For a small moment have I forsaken thee, and with great mercy will I gather thee. In an effusion of anger I hid my face from thee for a moment, and with everlasting grace I have compassion upon thee, saith Jehovah thy Redeemer." "For a small moment" carries us to the time of the captivity, which was a small moment in comparison with the duration of the tender and merciful love, with which Jehovah once more received the church into His fellowship in the person of its members. רגע in Isa 54:8 is not an adverb, meaning momentarily, as in Isa 47:9, but an accusative of duration, signifying a single moment long. Ketseph signifies wrath regarded as an outburst (fragor), like the violence of a storm or a clap of thunder; shetseph, which rhymes with it, is explained by A. Schultens, after the Arabic, as signifying durum et asperum esse: and hence the rendering adopted by Hitzig, "in hard harshness." But this yields no antithesis to "everlasting kindness," which requires that shetseph should be rendered in some way that expresses the idea of something transitory or of short duration. The earlier translators felt this, when like the lxx for example, they adopted the rendering ἐν θυμῷ μικρῷ, and others of a similar kind; and Ibn Labrt, in his writing against Menahem b. Zerk, who gives chŏrı̄, burning heat, as a gloss to shetseph, explains it by מעט (as Kimchi and others did afterwards). But, as Jakob Tam correctly observes, "this makes the sense purely tautological." In all probability, shâtsaph is a form allied to shâtaph, as nâshabh (Isa 40:7) is to nâshaph (Isa 40:24), and qâmat (Job 16:8) to qâmats, which stand in the same relation to one another, so far as the sense is concerned, as bubbling over to flowing over: so that the proper rendering would not be "in the overflowing of glowing heat," as Umbreit thinks, which would require קצף בּשׁטף (Pro 27:4), but in the gushing up of displeasure, the overflowing of indignation (Meier). The ketseph is only a shetseph, a vanishing moment (Jer. in momento indignationis), when compared with the true feeling of Jehovah towards Jerusalem, which is chesed ‛ōlâm, everlasting kindness.”