lectionary.com

Lenten Season · Easter Vigil Fourth Reading · Year A

Isaiah 54:5-14

The Future Glory of Zion

April 4, 2026

The Beloved (The Bride), Dante Gabriel Rossetti
The Beloved (The Bride), Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1865–1866Tate Britain, London
Rossetti's bride at the centre surrounded by attendants of deliberately varied complexion, with a Song of Songs verse inscribed on the frame.The frame carries the text these readings use: arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.Dante Gabriel RossettiA founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and a poet as much as a painter, who worked mostly from a small circle of women he knew.Tate Britain, LondonThe national collection of British art from 1500, on Millbank, including the Turner Bequest of nearly thirty thousand works the artist left to the nation.Tate Britain, London
Roman Lectionary
GospelMatt. 28:1-10Mt 28:1-10
Second ReadingRom. 6:3-11Rom 6:3-11
First ReadingIsa. 54:5-14Is 54:5-14
Responsorial PsalmPs. 30:2+4, 5-6, 11-12a+13b (2a)Ps 30:2+4, 5-6, 11-12a+13b (2a)

Overview & Insights

“For your Maker is your husband… with everlasting love I will have compassion on you.” (Isaiah 54:5, 8)

Once again a return to a focus on Ms Jerusalem follows the servant passage, as happened after 49:1–6 and 50:4–11. There were hints there that Ms Jerusalem’s restoration was the correlate of Ms Babylon’s humiliation in chapter 47. Chapter 54 is the systematic exposition of that theme. The prophet takes up five images of Ms Jerusalem which once again resume the themes of the people’s prayers (we are like a childless and abandoned woman, the victim of angry abuse—literally, we are a battered and insecure city) before coming to a striking conclusion.

From Sermons.com: Join Today to access the most scholarly & well written preaching resources anywhere.

Take it further: Isaiah 54:5-14

Commentary

Isaiah 54 Commentary: The Restoration of IsraelIs 54 Commentary: The Restoration of Israel Enduring Word · David Guzik

Guzik expounds the LORD as husband and redeemer of Zion and the everlasting covenant of peace verse by verse.

Isaiah 54:5 Commentaries (BibleHub)Is 54:5 Commentaries (BibleHub) BibleHub

Classic expositors gathered from 'your Maker is your husband' through the covenant of peace that shall not be removed.

Holy Saturday of the Lord's Passion, Vigil Mass (Cycle B) Agape Bible Study

A Catholic study of the Vigil readings hearing Isaiah 54 as God's restored marriage covenant with his people.

The Easter Vigil (Year B) | Dr. Brant Pitre Catholic Productions · Brant Pitre

Brant Pitre sets the prophet's promise of everlasting compassion within the Vigil's arc of covenant renewed in Christ.

Background & Word Study

Isaiah 54 (Hebrew and English, Sefaria)Is 54 (Hebrew and English, Sefaria) Sefaria

The Hebrew of the barren-woman-to-bride oracle with English and Jewish commentary on its covenant vocabulary.

Isaiah 54:5 Hebrew InterlinearIs 54:5 Hebrew Interlinear BibleHub

Word-by-word Hebrew with parsing for terms like Maker, Redeemer, and the covenant of peace.

The Covenants in the Bible Theme | BibleProject BibleProject

An animated theme video on the biblical covenants, the frame for Isaiah's everlasting covenant of peace.

The Church Fathers

Isaiah 54 | CatenaIs 54 | Catena Catena

Patristic comment gathered by verse, reading the once-barren bride as the church gathered from the nations.

Prep at sermons.com

Ready to write?

  • Full sermons on Matthew 28:1-10
  • Illustrations cleared for use in worship
  • Commentary, quotes, and Bible dictionary
Open it at sermons.com →

Trusted by pastors since 1995.

Free every Tuesday

Illustrations & Sermon Prep in your inbox

The coming Sunday’s readings, a cleared-for-use illustration, and a sermon-prep head start. One email, free.