[promises of salvation. give men for thee, and people for thy life. The church encouraged with] CHAP. XLIII. strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart. (P) BUT CHAP. XLIII. UT now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. 2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; 'neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. 3 For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. 4 Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I 5 Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; 6 I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters: from the ends of the earth; 7 Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him. 8 Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. 9 Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth. 10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen : that ye may know and believe CHAP. XLII. EXPOSITION. (P) A prophecy of the Messiah.-Here the Prophet drops the veil, and brings the Messiah into full view, without type or allegory: "Behold my servant, Messiah," says the Chaldee. St. Matthew, (chap. xii. 18, &c.) has applied this directly to Jesus Christ; nor can it (says Bp. Lowth) with any justice or propriety be applied to any other person whatever. The Prophet then expatiates on the meekness of his character, and the extent and blessings of his kingdom, particularly among the Gentiles; and calls upon all nations to join in one song of praise to God on his incarnation. After, this, (ver. 13.) he seems again to glance at the deliverance from the captivity, although the words no less aptly apply to the deliverance vouchsafed the Church, the overthrow of her most powerful enemies, and to the prevalency of true religion over idolatry and error. Lastly, the Prophet reproves the blindness and infidelity of the Jews, in rejecting their Messiah, and gives intimation of those awful judgments, which their guilt would at length draw upon them. There is some difficulty as to the person spoken of in ver. 21. Lowth and Boothroyd supply the pronoun "him"-meaning Israel; but we are much disposed to refer back to ver. 1. (the more early antecedent,) the Lord's "elect " (or chosen) servant, "in whom his soul delighteth."In him, we apprehend, the Lord was well pleased, for his (Messiah's) righteousness' sake-He (Messiah) will magnify the law, and make it (or him) honourable:" and this agrees exactly with the doctrine of the New Testament, (See Matt. iii. 17. Rom iii. 25, 26.) This, however, is offered to the reader's consideration: it is certain, that when God or Christ is spoken of, as being the great subject of revelation, the relative is often omitted, or left at a considerable distance. NOTES. CHAP. XLIII. Ver. 2. Walkest through the fire.-Mr. Harmer thinks this alludes to setting on fire fields of grass. Ver. 3. Egypt for thy ransom-" God (says Bp. Lowth) has often saved his people at the expense of ether nations, whom he has (as it were) given up to destruction." Particularly Egypt and Cush, or Ethiopia, see ch. xx. 4 and 5; xxxvii. 9. Ver. 8. The blind people,&c.-Comp. ch. xlii. 18, 19. Ver. 10. Neither shall there be after me-Lowth, "And after me none shall exist." The church encouraged with] ISAIAH. me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. 11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. 12 I have declared and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God. 13 Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it? 14 Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. 15 I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King. 16 Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; 17 Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise they are extinct, they are quenched as tow. 18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. CHAP. XLIII. [promises of salvation. 20 The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. 21 This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise. 22 But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel. 23 Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense. 24 Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities. 25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. 26 Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified. 27 Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me. 28 Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches. (Q.) EXPOSITION. (Q) The church encouraged with promises of salvation.-We have here the pleasing prospect of those times of reconciliation and favour which should hereafter succeed, when, with tender care, God should gather again his people from their several dispersions throughout the world, and bring them safely to their own land. Struck with astonishment at so clear a display of an event so distant, the Prophet again challenges all the pagan nations and their idols to produce an instance of such foreknowledge, and intimates that the Jews should remain (as at this day) a separate people, to witness the truth of the Egypt) says, "perhaps the sugar cane, which grew Ver. 27. Thy first father - Lowth, "Thy chief header..... Thy teachers - Heb "Interpreters;" Lowth," Public teachers." Ver. 28. Thy princes-Heb. " Holy princes;” i, e. priests. Promises of] CHAP. XLIV. CHAP. XLIV. [God's Spirit. ple? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto YET now hear, O Jacob my ser- them. vant; and Israel whom I have chosen: 2 Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen. 3 For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: 4 And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses. 5 One shall say, I am the LORD's; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel. 6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. 7 And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient peo 8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid : have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any. 9 They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. 10 Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing? 11 Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together. 12 The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint. 13 The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh EXPOSITION. prediction, till it should at length be completely fulfilled by the Almighty power of God. He then returns to their nearer deliverance, from the captivity of Babylon, which, as usual, he illustrates by allusions to that from Egypt; (see Exod. xiv.) than which this is represented as much more wonderful. On this occasion the Prophet represen's the tender care of God, in comforting and refreshing his people on their way through the desert, to be so great as to make even the wild beasts haunting those places sensible of the blessing of the copious streams then provided by Him. This leads finally to a beautiful contrast of the ingratitude of the Jews, and a vindication of God's dealings toward them. In a figurative sense, this prophecy may he well applied to the redemption by Messiah, the effects of his. gospel among the Gentiles, and the rejection of the Jews at the same time for their infidelity. NOTES. CHAP. XLIV. Ver. 2. Jesurun, or Jeshurun.See Note on Deut. xxxii. 15. Ver. 4. As among the grass-Lowth reads, " As grass among the waters?" So the LXX, and the sense obviously requires it. Ver. 5. Subscribe with his hand.--The preposition "with" is not in the original, and probably should not be supplied. It was customary to mark some part of the body, as the fore head, arm, or hand, with punctures, which were made indelible. "The slave was marked with the name of his master; the soldier, of his commander; the idolater, with the name or ensign of his god; and the Christians seem to The infinite wisdom] ISAIAH. [and power of God. the LORD, or being his counsellor hath nothing; he maketh the judges of the taught him? earth as vanity. 14 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? 15 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. 16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. 17 All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. 18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? 19 The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. 20 He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved. 21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: 23 That bringeth the princes to CHAP. XL. 24 Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble. 25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. 27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? 28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31 But they that wait upon the LORD, shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint. (N) EXPOSITION. "The course of Prophecies which follow from hence to the end of the book, and which, taken together, constitute the most NOTES-Chap. XL. Con. Ver. 15. As a very little thing-Lowth," An atom.” Ver. 19. Melteth-that is, casteth. And casteth silver chains-that the heathen chained their gods, see Orient. Lit. No. 931. Ver. 20. So impoverished, &c.-Heb. "He that is poor of oblation." Ver. 22. As a curtain-See Ps. civ. 2. Ver. 24. They shall wither.-Compare ver. 7. Ver. 26. By-Lowth, "Through."- -Not one faileth-that is, to appear. So Lowth. Ver. 27. My judgment passed over-Lowth, "My cause passeth unregarded." Ver. 29. He encreaseth -Heb. "Multiplieth strength." Ver. 31. Renew their strength-Heb. " Change." It was the general opinion of the ancients, that eagles moulted in old age. See Lowth, and our Note on Ps, ciii. 5. God's expostulation] CHAP. XLI. CHAP. XLI. KEEP silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment. 2 Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow. [with his people. 3 He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet. 4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he. 5 The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came. 6 They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage. EXPOSITION. elegant part of the sacred writings of the Immediately a harbinger is introduced, Old Testament, interspersed also with giving orders (as is usual in the march of many passages of the highest sublimity, Easteru monarchs) to remove every obwas probably delivered in the later part of struction, and to prepare the way for their the reign of Hezekiah. [To him] the Proreturn to their own land. The same phet had delivered a very explicit declara- words, however, in a higher sense, relate tion of the impending dissolution of the to the opening of the Messiah's kingdom kingdom, and of the captivity of the royal by the preaching of John the Baptist. house of David, and of the people, under (Matt. iii. 3, 4.) Accordingly, this subject, the kings of Babylon. As the subject of his coming once in view, is principally atsubsequent prophecies was to be chiefly of tended to in the sequel. Of this the Prothe consolatory kind, he opens them with phet gives us sufficient notice, by introducgiving a promise of the restoration of the ing (ver. 6) a voice commanding another kingdom, and the return of the people from proclamation, which calls off our attention that captivity, by the merciful interposition from all temporary fading things to the of God in their favour. But the views of spiritual and eternal things of the Gospel; the Prophet are not confined to this event, (see 2 Pet. i. 24, 25.) and to the character as the restoration of the royal family, and of the great Deliverer, “Behold your God!" of the tribe of Judah, which would other--And, to remove every obstacle in the wise have soon become undistinguished and have been irrecoverably lost, was necessary for the fulfilling of God's promise, of establishing a more glorious and an everlasting kingdom under the Messiah; to be born of the tribe of Judah, and of the family of David. The Prophet connects these two events together, and hardly ever treats of the former, without throwing in some intimations of the latter; and, sometimes, is so fully possessed with the glories of the future more remote kingdom, that he seems to leave the more immediate subject of his commission almost out of the question." Bp. Lowth. In this chapter the Prophet opens the subject with great force and elegance; declaring God's commands to his miessengers (the Prophets) to comfort his people in their captivity, and to impart to them the glad tidings that their sins were pardoned, and that deliverance was at hand. way of the prophecy, in either sense, he enlarges on the power and wisdom, of God, and concludes by showing that both are engaged in promoting the salvation of his people. It is impossible to read this de. scription of God, the most sublime that ever was penned, without being struck with inexpressible reverence and selfabasement. The contrast between the great JEHOVAH and every thing reputed great in this world; how admirably imagined! how exquisitely finished! What atoms and inanities are they all before Him who sitteth on the circle of the immense heavens, and views the potentates of the earth in the light of grasshoppers! "those poor insects that wander over the barren heath for sustenance, spend the day in insignificant chirping, and take up their contemptible lodging at night on a blade of grass!"-Dr. J. Smith. |