31:12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for {q} grain, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.
(q) By these temporal benefits he means the spiritual graces which are in the Church, and of which there would ever be plenty, Isa 58:11,12.
31:12 And sing - All the phrases in this verse signify one thing, the happy state of the Jews, after their return from captivity. The height of Zion means the temple. A watered garden - They shall be a beautiful, flourishing, and growing people. Soul seems here to be taken for the whole man. Not sorrow - In that manner they have been. But under these expressions is also promised the spiritual joy which the true Israel of God will have under the gospel, and the eternal joy they shall have in heaven.
31:10-17 He that scattered Israel, knows where to find them. It is comfortable to observe the goodness of the Lord in the gifts of providence. But our souls are never valuable as gardens, unless watered with the dews of God's Spirit and grace. A precious promise follows, which will not have full accomplishment except in the heavenly Zion. Let them be satisfied of God's loving-kindness, and they will be satisfied with it, and desire no more to make them happy. Rachel is represented as rising from her grave, and refusing to be comforted, supposing her offspring rooted out. The murder of the children at Bethlehem, by Herod, Mt 2:16-18, in some degree fulfilled this prediction, but could not be its full meaning. If we have hope in the end, concerning an eternal inheritance, for ourselves and those belonging to us, all temporal afflictions may be borne, and will be for our good.
