In those days shall Judah be saved
The elect of God among the Jews; and all such who are Jews inwardly, who truly believe in Christ, and confess his name, and praise him, and give him the glory or salvation. Judah signifies one that confesses or praises the Lord; such shall be saved from sin, Satan, the law, wrath, hell, and damnation, by the Branch of righteousness, the Messiah; who was raised up and sent to be a Saviour; came into the world for this purpose; has obtained salvation for his people; is the Captain and author of it; nor is it in any other; hence his name is called Jesus; and this salvation is to be had from him at all times; as in those days in which it was first wrought out, so throughout the whole Gospel dispensation: for "now is the day of salvation", ( 2 Corinthians 6:2 ) ; and indeed this is to be understood, not as exclusive of the Old Testament dispensation, when believers were saved by the same Lord Jesus as we are; only this is expressive of the impetration of this salvation by the incarnate Saviour; and of the more clear discovery and revelation of it; and of the application of it to a greater number of persons; and which is sure to all the spiritual seed of Christ, whether Jews or Gentiles, who "shall be saved" with an everlasting salvation: it is not said they "may" be saved, but they "shall" be saved; not may be saved if they will; or, however, this is not left on such a precarious footing; but they are made willing to be saved by Christ in the day of his power, yea, they are already saved: and Jerusalem shall dwell safely;
the inhabitants of it; such who are come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem; these being saved by Christ, are in the utmost safety; they have nothing to fear from the justice of God, that is satisfied; nor from the law, that is fulfilled; nor from their enemies, they are conquered and destroyed; God is pacified towards them; is the God of peace with them; and they have peace with him, and enjoy great serenity and tranquillity of mind; and must needs dwell safely, since Jehovah is around them as the mountains around Jerusalem; Christ is their strong hold, into which they run and are safe; the Holy Spirit within them is greater and mightier than their enemies in the world; angels encamp about them, and salvation is walls and bulwarks to them: and this [is the name] wherewith she shall be called, the Lord our
righteousness;
the same with the Messiah's name, ( Jeremiah 23:6 ) ; he is Jehovah; and he is our righteousness; the author of it, by his obedience, sufferings, and death; and which becomes ours by being wrought out for us, bestowed on us, imputed and applied to us. The Targum renders it here, as in the other place,
``this is the name wherewith they shall call him;''and so the Vulgate Latin version; but this is contrary to the Hebrew text, which has "her", and not "him". R. Joseph Kimchi reads it, "and this who calls her [is] the Lord our righteousness"; which is followed by some Christian writers F25. Some interpret it, who calls her by his Gospel to the salvation promised and performed; others, who calls her to dwell safely; others render it, "this [is the name] with which he [the Lord] shall call him, for her", for the sake of the church, the Lord our righteousness F26; but David Kimchi and Ben Melech take the sense to be this,
``the holy blessed God shall call Jerusalem the Lord our righteousness;''and certain it is that this is the name imposed on the church here meant, as Hephzibah and Beulah, in ( Isaiah 62:4 ) ; and why may she not be as well called "Jehovah Tzidhenu", the Lord our righteousness, as "Jehovah Shammah", the Lord is there? ( Ezekiel 48:35 ) . She is called "Jehovah", not as deified by him, but as united to him; and our "righteousness", as justified by him. Christ and his church are one, as head and members are; and therefore are called by the same name: hence the church is called Christ, ( 1 Corinthians 12:12 ) ; they are in a marriage relation; Christ is the husband, and the church is his spouse; and as husband and wife bear the same name, so do Christ and his church; moreover, not only Christ is made righteousness to his people, but they are made the righteousness of God in him; his righteousness is put upon them, and imputed to them, so that they are righteous as he is righteous, ( 1 Corinthians 1:30 ) ( 2 Corinthians 5:21 ) ( 1 John 3:7 ) .