ing him by the hand. 1T And give thee for a covenant. This is evidently an abbreviated form of expression, and the meaning is, • I will give or appoint thee as the medium, or means by which a covenant shall be made with the people; or a mediator of the new covenant which God is about to establish with men.' See ch. xlix. 8. A similar expression occurs in Micah v. 5, where it is said of the Messiah, * and this man shall be the peace;" that is, he shall be the source of peace, or peace shall be established and maintained by him. So in Eph. ii. 14, it is said of him, " and he is our peace." IT Of the people. It has been doubted whether this means the Jewish people, or the Gentiles. Grotius, Hengstenberg, Vitringa, and others understand it of the Jews; Rosenmuller and others, of the Gentiles. It is not easy to determine which is the correct interpretation. But the meaning as I apprehend is, not that he would confirm the ancient covenant with the descendants of Abraham, aa Hengstenberg and Vitringa suppose, but that his covenant would be established with all, with both Jews and Gentiles. According to this it will refer to the Jews, not as Jews, or as already interested in the covenant, but as constituting one portion of the world; and the whole expression will mean, that his religion will be extended to Jews and Gentiles; i. e. to the whole world. IT For a light of the Gentiles. See Luke ii. 32. Light is the emblem of knowledge, instruction, and of the true religion. The Messiah is often called " light," and 'he " light of the world. " See Matt. iv. 16. Comp. Note Isa. ix. 2. John i. 4, 7, 9, iii. 19, viii. 12, ix. 5, xii. 35, 46. Rev. xxi. 23. This i? <*ne of the numerous declarations which occur in Isaiah, that the religion of the Messiah would be extended to the heathen world; and that they, as well as the Jews, would be brought to partake of its privileges. 7. To open the blind eyes. Thia ui
bring out *the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness "out of the prison-house.
8 I am the Lord; cthat is my name: and emy glory will I not
equivalent to saying that he would impart instruction to those who were ignorant. It relates to the Jews as well as to the Gentiles.. He would acquaint them with God, and with the way of salvation. The condition of the world is often represented as one of darkness, and blindness. Men see not their true character; they see not their real condition; they are ignorant of God, and of the truths pertaining to their future existence; and they need, therefore, soirp one who shall enlighten, and sanctify, and save them. IT To bring out the prisoners from the prison. Comp. ch. lxi. 1, 2. This evidently refers to a spiritual deliverance, though the language is derived from deliverance from a prison. It denotes that he would rescue those who were confined in mental darkness by sin; and that their deliverance from the thraldom and darkness of sin would be as wonderful as if a prisoner should be delivered suddenly from a dark cell, and be permitted to go forth and breathe the pure air of freedom. Such is the freedom which the gospel imparts; nor can there be a more striking description of its happy effects on the minds and hearts of darkened and wretched men. Comp. 1 Pet. ii. 9.
8. / am the Lord. I am Jehovah. Here is also a change in the address. In the previous verses, God had addressed the Messiah. Here he turns to the people, and assures them that he is the only true God, and that he will not suffer the praise that is due to him to be given to any other, or to any graven image. The name Jehovah signifies being, or essential existence. See Note ch. i. 9. It is a name which is given to none bu*. the true God, and which is every where in the Scriptures used to distinguish him from all others. TT That is my name. That is the nara° which give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare; before ethey spring forth I tell you of them.
I have ch'jsen by which to distinguish myself from all idols, and which I regard as appropriately expressive of my existence and perfections. Thus it Vf. used in Ps. lxxxiii. 18. Comp. Ps. xcvi. 5. IT And my glory. The glory, honour, or praise that is due to me. IT Will I not give. I will not allow it to be ascribed to another; I will not allow another to assume or receive th; honour which is due to me. IT To another. To any other; whether it be man, or whether it be an idol. God claims that all appropriate honours should be rendered to him, and that men should cherish no opinions, maintain no doctrines, indulge in no feelings, that would be derogatory to the honour of his name. This declaration is designed to counteract the propensity every where manifest to attribute to man that which belongs to God, or to ascribe to our own wisdom, skill, or power, that which he alone can accomplish. IF Neither my praise. The praise which is due to me. He would not permit graven images to receive the praise of having done that which he himself had accomplished.
9. Behold, the former things are come to pass. That is, the former things which he had foretold. This is the evidence to which he appeals in proof thai he alone was God, and this is the basis on which he calls upon them to believe that what he had predicted in regard to future things would also come to pass. He had by his prophets foretold events which had now been fulfilled, and this should lead them to confide in him alone as the true God. IT And new things do I declare. Things pertaining to future events relating to the coming of the Messiah, and to the universal prevalence of his religion in the world. 1T Before they spring forth. There is here a beautiful image. The metaphor is a«
10 Sing unto the Lord a new song/ and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and 'all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.
ken from plants, and flowers, the word ^^^ tzdmdhh properly referring to the springing up of plants, or to their sending out shoots, buds, or flowers. The phrase literally means, * before they begin to germinate,' i. e. before there are any indications of life, or growth in the plant. The sense is, that God predicted the future events before there was any thing by which it might be inferred that such occurrences would take place. It was not done by mere sagacity — as men like Burke and Canning may sometimes predict future events with great probability by marking certain political indications or developments. God did this when there were no such indications, and when it must have been done by mere omniscience. In this respect, all his picdictions differ from the conjectures of man, and from all the reasonings which are founded on mere sagacity.
10. Sing unto the Lord a new song. It is common, as we have seen, to celebrate the goodness of God in a hymn of praise on the manifestation of any peculiar act of mercy. See Notes on ch. xii. xxv. xxvi. Here the prophet calls upon all people to celebrate the divine mercy in a song of praise in view of his goodness in providing a Redeemer. The sentiment is, that God's goodness in providing a Saviour demands the thanksgiving of all the world, f A new song. A song hitherto unsung; one that shall be expressive of the goodness of God in this nexo manifestation of his mercy. None of the hymns of praise that had been employed to express his former acts of goodness would appropriately express this. The mercy was so great that it demanded a song expressly made for the occasion. IT And his praise from the tnd of the earth. From ali parts of the
11 Let tne wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.
earth. Let the most distant nations who are to be interested in this great and glorious plan, join in the glad celebration. On the meaning of the phrase, " end of the earth," see Note ch. xl. 28. IT Ye that go down to the sea. That is, traders, navigators, merchants, seamen; — such as do business in the great waters. The sense is, that they would be interested in the plan of mercy through a Redeemer; and hence they are called on to celebrate the goodness of God. Comp. Notes ch. lx. 5. This is referred to by the prophet, because (1) of the great multitude who thus go down to the sea; and (2) because their conversion will have so important an influence in diffusing the true religion to distant nations. IT And all that is therein. Margin, as in Heb. " the fulness thereof." All that fill it; that is, either in ships, or by dwelling on the islands and coasts The meaning is, that all who were upor the sea — the completeness, the whole ness of the maritime population, being equally interested with all others in the great salvation, should join in celebrating the goodness of God. IF The isles. A large portion of the inhabitants of the world a:e dwellers upon islands. In modern times, some of the most signal displays of the divine mercy, and some of the most remarkable conversions to Christianity, have been there. In the Sandwich Islands, and in Ceyloii, God has poured out his Spirit, and their inhabitants have been among the first in the heathen world to embrace the gospel.
11. Let the wilderness. Note ch. xxxv. 1. The word here denotes the most uncultivated countries, intimating that even the most rude and barbarouf people would have occasion to rejoice, and would be interested in the mercy of God. IT And the cities thereof. To
12 Let' them give glory unto.he Lord, and declare his praise in the islands.
us there seems to be something incongruous in speaking of the " cities" in a " wilderness." But we are to remember that the Hebrews gave the name wilderness or desert to those regions that were mostly uncultivated, or sparsely inhabited. They were places that were chiefly devoted to pasturage, and not cultivated by the plough, or regions of vast plains of sand and far-extended barrenness with here and there an oasis on which a city might be built. Josephus, speaking of the desert or wilderness lying between Jerusalem and Jericho, enumerates several villages or towns in it, showing that though it was mainly a waste, yet that it was not wholly without towns or inhabitants. We are to remember also that large towns or cities for commercial purposes, or thoroughfares, were often built in the few fertile or advantageous places which were found in the midst of desert wastes. Thu3 we are told of Solomon, (2 Chron. viii. 4,) that " he built Tadmor in the wilderness;" and we know that Palmyra, and Bozrah, and Sela, were large cities that were built in the midst of regions that were generally to be regarded as deserts, or waste3. IT The villages that Kedar doth inhabit. Where the inhabitants of Kedar dwell. Kedar was a son of Ishmacl (Gen. xxv. 13), the father of the Kedarenians, or Ccdrei, mentioned by Pliny (N. H. v. 2), who dwell in the vicinity of the Nabathseans in Arabia Deserta. They often changed their place, though it would seem that they usually dwelt in the neighbourhood of Petra, or Sela. The name Kedar is often given to Arabia Deserta, and the word may in some instances denote Arabia in general. The inhabitants of those countries usually dwell in tents, and lead a nomadic and wandering life. 1T Let the inhabitants of the rock sing. It is uncertain whether the word "rock" here (Heb. $\o Seiii, Gr. xfrpav Petri or Rock") is to be
13 The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, lie shall stir up jealousy like a "man of war: he
regarded as a proper name, or to denote in a general sense those who dwell in the rocky part of Arabia. Sela, or Petra, was the name of the celebrated city that was the capital of Idumca; (see Notes in ch. xvi. 1:) and the connection here would rather lead us to suppose that this city was intended here, and that the inhabitants of the capital were called upon to join with the dwellers in the surrounding cities and villages in celebrating the goodness of God. But it may denote in general those who inhabited the desolate and stony region of Arabia Petrea, or whose hema wa3 among the cliffs of the rocks. If so, it is a call upon Arabia in general to rejoice in the mercy of God, and to give glory to him for providing a plan of redemption— an intimation that to the descendants of Ishmacl, the blessings of the gospel would be extended. IT Lei them shout from the top of the mountains. They who had taken refuge there, or who had made their permanent abode there. Vitringa supposes that the mountains of Paran are meant which are situated on the north of Mount Sinai. The idea in the verse is, that all the dwellers in Arabia would celebrate the goodness of God, and join in praising him for his mercy in giving a deliverer. They were yet to partake ol the benefits of his coming, and to have occasion of joy at his advent. It is possible that Cowper may have had this passage in his eye in the following description of the final and universal prevalence of the gospel:
The dwciler< in the vales and on the rocks. Shout to each other,;md the mountain-tups, from distant mountains catch the Hying joy: Tili nation after nation taught the strain. Kurth rolls the rapturous hosunnus round.
12. Let them give glory in the isU ands. Note ch. xli. 1. Let the distant regions praise God.
shall cry, yea, roar: he sshall prevail against his enemies.
14 I have ong time holden my peace: I have been still, and i refrained myself: noiv 'will I cry
sons why they should praise Jehovah. He would go forth in his might to over- j come and subdue his foes, and to deli- j ver his people. In his conquests, and \ in the establishment of his kingdom, all people would have occasion to rejoice and be glad. ^ As a mighty man. As a hero, as a warrior. Jehovah is often in the Scriptures represented as a hero, or a man of war.
JEHOVAH is a man of war: JEHOVAH is his name.
Who is this King of glory? JEHOVAH, strong and mu-hty; JEHOVAH mighty in battle.
The word «^^?P means vengeance, or indignation, as well as jealousy. The image here is that of a warrior who rushes on impetuously to take vengeance on his foes. IT He shall cry. He shall give a shout, or a loud clamour. Warriors usually entered a battle with a loud shout, designed to stimulate their own courage, and to intimidate their foes. All this language is taken from such an entrance on an engagement, and denotes the fixed determination of God to overthrow all his enemies.
14. I have long time holden my peace. This is the language of Jehovah, and it means that he had for a long time been patient, and forbearing; but that now he would go forth as a warrior to overpower and destroy his foes. IT I ie*7/ destroy. The word here used (from tlB3 nasham) denotes properly to brealhe hard, to pant, as a woman in travail; and then to breathe hard in any manner. It here denotes the hard breathing which is indicative of anger, or a purpose to execute vengeance, f And devour at once. Marg. " swal- like a travailing woman; I wil destroy and 4devour at once.
15 I will make waste mourn tains,r and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the
low, or sup up." The word Fi5*'* means rather to breathe hard, to pant, to blow, as in anger, or in the haste of pursuit. Tht idea in the verse is, that Jehovah had cor a long time restrained his anger against his foes, and had refrained from executing vengeance on them. But now he would rouse his righteous indignation, and go forth to accomplish his purposes in their destruction. All this language is descriptive of a hero, or warrior; and is, of course, not to be regarded as applicable literally to God. He often uses the language of men, and speaks of his purposes under the image of human passions. But we are not to infer that the language is literally applicable to him, nor is it to be interpreted too strictly, It means, in general, that God would go forth with a fixed and settled purpose to destroy his foes.
15. J will make waste mountains. This verse denotes the utter desolation which God would bring upon his foes in his anger. The meaning of this part of the verse is, that he would spread desolation over the hills and mountains that were well watered and laid out in gardens and orchards. It was common to plant vineyards on the sides of hills and mountains; and indeed most of the mountains of Palestine and adjacent regions were cultivated nearly to the top. They were favourable to the culture of the vine and the olive; and by making terraces, the greater portion of the hills were thus rescued for purposes of agriculture. Yet an enemy or warrior marching through a land would seek to spread desolation through all its cultivated parts, and lay waste all its fields. God, therefore, represents himself as a conqueror, laying waste the cultivated portions of the country of his foes. IT And dry up all their herbs. Hs wouJd de*
rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.
16 And 'I will bring the blind' by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths "that they
Btroy all the grain and fruits on which they were depending for support. ^ And I will make the rivers islands. Or rather dry land, or deserts. I will, in the heat of my anger, dry up the streams bo that the bottoms of those streams shall be dry land. The word here rendered islands, from *tt$, properly denotes dry land, habitable ground, as opposed to water, the sea, rivers, &c, and the signification islands is a secondary signification. IT And I will dry up the pools. The pools on which they have been dependent for water for their flocks and herds. The sense of the whole passage is, I will bring to desolation those who worship idols, and the idols themselves. I will produce an entire change among them, as great as if I were to spread desolation.over their cultivated hills, and to dry up all their streams. The reference is, probably, to the great changes which God would make in the heathen world. All that flourished on Pagan ground; all that was nurtured by idolatry; all their temples, fanes, altars, shrines, should be overturned and demolished; and in all these things great and permanent changes would be produced. The time would have come when God could no longer bear with the growing abominations of the Pagan nations, and when he would go forth as a conqueror to subdue all to himself.
16. And I will lead the blind. Having said in the previous verses what he would Jo to his enemies, God now speaks of his people. He would conduct them to their own land — as a blind people that needed a guide, and would remove whatever obstacle there was in their way. By the " blind" here, he refers doubtless to his own people. The term is applied originally to his people in captivity, as being ignorant, after have not known: I will make darkness.ight before them, and crooked things 6straight. These things will I do yunto them, and not "forsake them.
their seventy years' exile, of the way ol return to their own land. It is possible that it may have a reference to the fact, so often charged on them, that they were characteristically a stupid and spiritually blind people. But it is more probable that it is the language of tenderness rather than that of objurgation; and denotes their ignorance of the way of return, and their need of a guide, rather than their guilt, and hardness of heart. If applied to the people of God under the New Testament — as the entire strain of the prophecy seems to lead us to conclude — then it denotes that Christians will feel their need of a leader, counsellor, and guide; and that Jehovah, as a military leader, will conduct them all in a way which they did not know, and remove all obstacles from their path. IT By a way that they knew not. When they were ignorant what course to take; or in a path which they did not contemplate or design. It is true of all the friends of God that they have been led in a way which they knew not. They did not mark out this course for themselves; they did not at first form the plans of life which they came ultimately to pursue; they have been led, by the Providence of God, in a different path, and by the Spirit of God they have been inclined to a course which they themselves would never have chosen. Comp. Note ch. xxx. 21. IT J will make darkness light before them. Darkness in the Scriptures is the emblem of ignorance, sin, adversity, and calamity. Here it seems to be the emblem of adverse and opposing events; of calamities, persecutions, and trials. The meaning is, that God would mako those events which seemed to be adverse and calamitous, the means of furthering his cause, and promoting the spirit of the true religion, and the happiness of his people. This has been.
17 They ^shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are
eminently the case with the persecutions which the church has endured. The events which have been apparently most adverse, have been ultimately overruled to the best interests of the true religion. Such was the case with the persecutions under the Roman emperors, and in general such has been the case in all the persecutions which the church has been called to suffer. 1T And crooked things straight. Things which seem to be adverse and opposing — the persecutions and trials which the people of God would be called to endure. ^ And not forsake them. See Notes ch. xli. 10, 13, 14.
17. They shall he turned back. The phrases to be turned back, and to be suffused with shame, are frequently used in the Scriptures to denote a state of disappointment in regard to an object of trust or confidence, and especially of those who had trusted in idols. See Ps. xxxv. 4, lxx. 3, xcvii. 7. Comp. Notes Isa. i. 29, xix. 9, xxxvii. 27. See also Ezek. xvi. 52, liv. 63. The sense here is, that they should find no such protection in their idol gods as they had hoped, and that they should be covered with conscious guilt for ever having trusted in them and given to them the homage which was due to the true
18. Hear, ye deaf. This is evidently an address to the Jews, and probably to the Jews of the time of the prophet. He had been predicting the coming of the Messiah, and the influence of his religion on the Gentile world. He had said that God would go forth to destroy the idolatry of the heathen nations, and to convince them of the folly of the worship of images, and to confound them for putting their trust in them. He seems here to have recollected that mis was the easily-besetting sin of his »wn countrymen, and perhaps especially
18 Hear, eye deaf; and lookt ye dblind, that ye may see.
19 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he
of the times when he penned this portion of the prophecy — under the reign of Manasseh; that that generation was stupid, blind, deaf to the calls of God, and sunk in the deepest debasement of idolatry. In view of this, and of the great truths \n tich he had uttered, he calls on them to hear, to be alarmed, to return to God, and assures them that for these sins they exposed themselves to, and must experience, his sore displeasure. The statement of these truths, and the denouncing of these judgments, occupy the remainder of thia chapter. A similar instance occurs in ch. ii., where the prophet having foretold the coming of the Messiah, and the fact that his religion would be extended among the Gentiles, turns and reproves the Jews for their idolatry and crimes. See Notes on that chapter. The Jewish people are often described as " deaf" to the voice of God, and "blind" to their duty and their interests. See Isa. xxix. 18, xlii. 8. IT And look — that ye may see. This phrase denotes an attentive, careful and anxious search, in order that there may be a clear view of the object. The prophet calls them to an attentive contemplation of the object, that they might have a clear and distinct view of it. They had hitherto looked at the subject of religion in a careless, inattentive, and thoughtless manner.
19. Who is Hind, but my servant? Some of the Jewish expositors suppose that by " servant" here the prophet himself is intended, who they suppose is here called blind and deaf by the impious Jews who rejected his message. But it is evident, that by "servant" here the Jewish people themselves are intended, the singular being used for the plural, in a sense similar to that where they are so often called " Jacob " and " Israel." The phrase ■ servants of God is often given to his people, and is used to denote true worshippers. The word is here used to denote those who professed to be the true worshippers of Jehovah. The prophet had, in the previous verses, spoken of the blindness and stupidity of the Gentile world. He here turns to his own countrymen, and addresses them as more blind, and deaf, and stupid than they. ' Who/ he asks, ' is as blind as they are V Where are any of the heathen nations so insensible to the appeals of God, and so hard-hearted? — The idea of the prophet is, that the Jews had had far greater advantages, and yet they were so sunk in sin that it might be said that comparatively none were blind but they. Even the degradation of the heathen nations, under the circumstances of the case, could not be compared with theirs. IT As my messenger that I sent. Lowth renders this, " And deaf, as he to whom I have sent my messengers." The LXX render it, " And deaf but those that rule over them;" by a slight change in the Hebrew text. The Vulgate reads it as Lowth has rendered it. The Chaldee renders it, " If the wicked are converted, shall they not be called my servants? And the sinners to whom I sent my prophets V But the sense seems to be this: — The Jewish people were regarded as a people selected and preserved by God for the purpose of preserving and extending the true religion. They might be spoken of as sent for the great purpose of enlightening the world — as God's messengers in the midst of the deep darkness of benighted nations, and as appointed to be the agents by which the true religion was to be perpetuated and propagated on earth. Or perhaps, the word 'messenger' here may denote collectively the Jewish leaders, teachers, and priests, who had been sent as the messengers of God to that people, and who were, with the people, sunk in deep debasement and sin. tf,4s he that is perfect; M^Ig- A great variety of thou observest not; opening thft ears, but he heareth not.
interpretations has been offered on thi* word — arising from the difficulty oi giving the appellation " perfect " to a people so corrupt as were the Jews in the time of Isaiah. Jerome renders it, " qui venundatus est" — he thai is sold. The Syriac renders it, " Who is blind as the prince 1" Symmachus renders it, us o riXet'JS; and Kimchi in a similar manner by tDn72in tamim, perfect. The verb cVJ means properly to be whole, sound, safe; to be completed, finished, ended; and then to be at peace, or friendship with any one. And it may be applied to the Jews, to whom it undoubtedly refera here, in one of the following senses; either (1) ironically, as claiming to be perfect; or (2) as thosewho professed to be perfect; or (3) as being favoured with rites, and laws, and a civil and sacred constitution that were complete ( Vitringo); or (4) as being in friendship with God, as Grotius and Gesenius suppose. It most probably refers to the fact that they were richly endowed by Jehovah with complete and happy institutions adapted to their entire welfare, and such as in comparison with other nations were fitted to make them perfect. IT As the Lord's servant. The Jewish people, professing to serve and obey God.
20. Seeing many things. That is, the people, the Jews, spoken of here as the servants of God. They had had an opportunity of observing many things pertaining to the law, the government, and the dealings of Jehovah. They had often witnessed his interposition in the days of calamity, and he often rescued them from peril. These things they could not but have observed, much as they had chosen to disregard the lessons which they were calculated to convey. IT But thou observest not. Thou dost not keep them (""lEwI"}); thou dost not regard them. tf Opening the cars. Thou hast thine ears open. They heard the woids of 1 the law, and the instructions conveyed
21 The Lord is well pleased | will magnify8 the law, and make for7 his righteousness' sake; he j 9it honourable.
by tradition from their fathers, but they did not lay them to heart, or give heed to them. See Note on ch. vi. 10.
21. The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake. There is great variety in the translation and interpretation of this verse. Lowth renders it,
Yet JEHOVAH was gracious unto him for his truth's sake; He hath exalted his own praise, and made it
It pleased JEHOVAH for his roodness' sake
To ijive him a law gveat:uid glurio'is;
Ana yet it is a robbed and plundered people.
The LXX render it, " The Lord God determined that he should be justified, and magnify his praise." The Chaldee renders it, " Jehovah, willed that Israel should be justified; he magnified the doers of his law, and comforted them." The Syriac, " The Lord willed on account of his righteousness to magnify his law, and to commend it." Vitringa explains it, '.' God has embraced the Jewish people in his love and favour, and regards them as acceptable to himself, not indeed on account of any merit of theirs, or on account of any external advantages, but on account of his own truth, fidelity, and equity, that he might fulfil the promises which he made to their fathers." This seems to express the sense of the passage. According to this, it refers solely to the Jewish people, and not as is often supposed to the Messiah. The phrase, " is well pleased," means that Jehovah takes delight in his people, or looks upon them with an eye of tenderness and affection. He finds pleasure in contemplating them as his people, and in regarding and treating them as such. IT For his righteousness' sake. Not for the righteousness of his people, but on account of his own righteousness; i. e. his own goodness, clemency, mercy, and forbearance. It is not because he sees in them any thing that should Wxii \i*Q love; or excite his favour; for he says (ver. 22) that they are robbed, wid plundf >d, and hid, and bound in
But Jehovah had selected their as his own peoj le. Pie had made them precious promises. He had designs of mercy towards them. He had given them a holy law. He had promised to be their protector and their God. On this account he was pleased with them still; and it was on account of his own fidelity and plighted protection, that he was delighted in thtm aa his people. The word " righteousness," therefore, P^.-*, is used to denote God'a purpose to do right; i. e. to adhere to his promises, and to maintain a character of fidelity and integrity. He would not fail, or violate his own pledges to his people. IT He will magnify the law. The word law here is used to denote the entire series of statutes, or legislative acts of God, in regard to the Jewish people — including all his promises and pledges to them. And the meaning is, that he would so deal with them aa to make that law important in their view; so as to show that he regarded it as of infinite moment. He would adhere strictly himself to all his own covenant pledges in that law, so as to show that he regarded it as sacred and of binding obligation; and all his dealings with them under that law would be such as to magnify its importance ana purity in their view. The Hebrew is, " he will make the law great;" that is, he will make it of great importance. IT And make it honourable. Or make it glorious, by himself showing a constant regard for it, and by so dealing with them that they should be brought to see and feel its importance. Ac* cording to this, which is the obvious interpretation, the passage has no reference particularly to the Messiah. It is true, however, that the language here used is such as would appropriately describe the work of the Redeemer; and that a large part of what he did in hia public ministry, and by.his atonement, was " to magnify the law and make it honourable;" — to vindicate its equity-
22 But this is a people robbed and spoiled;* they1 are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison-houses: they are for a
1 or, insnaring all the young men of them.
lo urge its binding obligation — to sustain its claims — to show that it could rvpt be violated with impunity — and to demonstrate that its penalty was just. The whole effect of the Redeemer's work is to do honour to the lav/ of God, nor has any thing occurred in the history of our world that has done so much to maintain its authority and binding obligation as his death on the cross in the place of sinners.
22. But this is a people robbed and spoiled. The Jewish people, though Highly favoured, have been so unmindful of the goodness of God to them, that ne has given them into the hand of their enemies to plunder them. This is to be conceived as spoken after the captivity, and while the Jews were in exile. Their being robbed and spoiled, therefore, refers to the invasion of the Chaldeans, and is to be regarded as spoken prophetically of the exiled and oppressed Jews while in Babylon. 1T They are all of them snared in holes. This passage has been variously rendered. Lowth renders it,
" All their chosen youth are taken in the toils;"
following in this the translation of Jerome, and rendering it as Le Clerc and Houbigant do. The LXX read it, " And I saw, and the people were plundered and scattered, and the snare was in all their private chambers, and in their houses where they hid themselves;" — meaning, evidently, that they had been taken by their invaders from the places rfrhere they had secreted themselves in their own city and country. The Chaldee renders it, " All their youth were covered with confusion, and shut up in prison." The Syriac, " All their youth are snared, and they have hid them bound in their houses." This variety & interpretation has arisen in part, besause the Hebrew which is rendered in
23 Who among you will giv« ear to this 1 who will hearken; and hear for 3the time to come 1
our version, " in holes," t3*Hln3, may be either the plural form of the word "Ilt"l3 chosen, selected; and thence youths — selected for their beauty, or strength; or it may be the plural form of the word ""lin, a hole, or cavern, with the preposition 3 Beth prefixed. Our translation prefers the latter; and this is probably the correct interpretation, as the parallel expression, " they are hid in prison-houses," seems to demand this. The literal interpretation, of the passage is, therefore, that they were snared, or secured in the caverns, holes, or places of refuge where they sought security. IT And they are hid in prison-houses. They were concealed in their houses as in prisons so that they could not go out with safety, or without exposing themselves to the danger of being taken captive. The land was filled with their enemies, and they were obliged to conceal themselves if possible from their foes. IT And none saith, Restore. There is no deliverer — no one who can interpose, and compel the foe to give up his captives. The sense is, the Jewish captives were so strictly confined in Babylon, and under a government so powerful, that there was no one who could rescue them, or that they were so much the object of contempt, that there were none who would feel so much interest in them as to demand them fror.i their foes.
23. Who among you will give ear to this? Who is there in the nation that will be so warned by the judgments of God, that he will attend to the lessons which he designs to teach, and reform his life, and return to him? It is implied by these questions that such ought to be the effect; it is implied also that they were so sunken and abandoned that they would not do it. These judg. ments were a loud call on the nation *c
24 Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the Lord, he* against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law.
25 Therefore he hath poured
turn to God, and, in time to come, to avoid the sins which had made it necessary for him to interpose in this manner, and give them to spoil.
24. Who gave Jacob for a spoil? Who gave up the Jewish people to be plundered? The object of this verse is, to bring distinctly before them the fact that it was Jehovah, the God of their fathers, and of their nation, who had brought this calamity upon them. It was not the work of chance, but it was the immediate and direct act of God on account of their sins. Probably, as a people, they were not disposed to believe this; and the prophet, therefore, takes occasion to call their attention particularly to this fact.
2iS. Therefore he hath poured upon
upon him the fury of his anger and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire' round about, yet"4 he knew not; and it burned him, yet. he laid it not tn heart.
him the fury of his anger. His righteous indignation in the overturning of their nation, the destruction of their temple and city, and in carrying them captive into a distant land, f And it hath set him on fire. That is, the fury of Jehovah kindled the flame of war all around the Jewish nation, and spread desolation every where. IT Yet he knew not. They refused to attend to it, and lay it to heart. They pursued their ways of wickedness, regardless of the threatening judgments, and the impending wrath of God. They did not con~ sider that these evils were inflicted fot their crimes, nor did they turn from their sins when they were thus th- *%K* ened with the wrath of God.
This chapter is evidently a continuation of the subject discussed in the previous chapters, ani refers mainly to the promised deliverance from Babylon. The people of Cod are still contemplated by the prophet as Buttering the evils of thiir long and painfui captivity, and his object is to comfort them with the assurances of deliverance. Thft Chapter may be regarded as composed of a succession of arguments, all tending to.-how them that God would be their protector, and that the r deliverance would be certain. These arguments are riot distinguished by any very clear murks of transition, and all divisions of the chapter mu-t be in a measure arbitrary. But perhaps the following airangement will comprise the considerations which th*; prophet, designed to suggest.
I. In the previous chapter he had severely rebuked the Jews, as being deaf, and blind, and had showed them that it was on account of their sins that these calamities had come upon them Vet he now turns and says, that they are the people whom lie had redeemed, and whom it was his purpose to deliver, and repeats the solemn assurance that they would be rescued, vs. 1—7. Thi; assurance consists of many items or cons 'derations showing that they would be recovered however far they wee driven from their own land, ic) God had formed and redeemed them, ver. 1. It followed from this that a God of covenant faithfulness would be with them in their trials, ver. 2. ('.) They had been so precious to him and valuable that he had given entire nations for their ransom, ver. 3. It followed from this, that he would continue to give more, if necessary, for their ransom, ver7 4 (c) II was the fixed purpose of God to gather them again, wherever they might be scattered, and tilt; /.ad therefore, nothing to fear, vs. 5—7.
_ II. God asserts his superiority to all idol gods. He makes a solemn appeal, as he had done in ch. xli., to show that the idols had no power; and refers to all that he had predicted and to its fulfilment in proof that he was the only true God, and h;:d been faithful to Ids people, vs. 8—13. In doing this, he says, (a) that none of the idols had been able to predict future events, vs. S, 9; (b) that.he Jewish
Eeople were his witnesses that he was the true Cod, and the only Saviour, vs. IP, 11 12; (c) that he ad existed for ever, and that 110112 could thwart hts designs, ver. 13.
ITT. God asserts h's purpose o destroy the power of Babylon, vs 14,17. He says, (a) thai he had **nt to Pabylon I by Cyrus] to b'ing dov\n their power, and prostrate their noble*, v*. 11, 15; anil (b) api eals lo what lie had formerly done- refers to the deliverance from; gypt; and asserts it to be nil characteristic that ho made a way in the si a, and kd lorth the char.o', the horse, the army, and lha power, vs. 16, 17
IV Yet he tells thr-m (v.^. 18— 21>, that all hn former wonderful interposi ions would be surpassed", ikat he would do a new thing— so strange, so wondenul and marvellous, that;.ll that he had loimcrly done should be ibrgottcn. (a) They are commanded not to remember iht; lomcr things, ver. 18. <&) He would do a new thing — a thing which in all his former interpos. lions had not I cen done, ver. 19 (c) The characteristics of tl"; future wonder would be, that he would make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, ver. 19; and that even the wild beasts of the d. sert should be made to honour him, ver. lit), (c) He had formed that people lor himself, and they should show forth his praise, ver. 21.
V. From these promises of protection and assistance, and these assurances of favour, God turns to remind thtm of their sins, and assures them that it was by no merit of theirs that he would thus int ■rpose to deliver ihcm. He reminds them 'a) of their having neglec'ed as a people to honour him, and having withheld what was his due, vs. 22 — 24; yet (&) he would blot out their sins, but it was by no merit of theirs, but by his mere mercy, vs. 25, 26; (c) Ihey hail been a sinful people, and he had. therefore, humbled their power, and given the nation to reproach, and a curse, vs. 27, 28. The same subject is resumed and prosecuted in the next chapter, and they should be read together without any interruption.
1 But0 now, thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Is-
1. Hut now. This expression shows lhat this chapter is connected with the n receding. The sense is, ' Though God has punished the nation, and showed them his displeasure (chap. xlii. 24, 25), yet noto he will have mercy, and will deliver them.' IT That created thee. The word " thee" is here used evidently in a collective sense as denoting the Jewish people. It is used because the names" Jacob" and "Israel" in the singular number are applied to the people. The word " created " is here used to denote the idea that as the peculiar people of God, they owed their origin to him, as the universe owed its origin to his creative power. It means that as a people their institutions, laws, customs, and privileges, and whatever they had that was valuable, were all to be traced to him. The same word occurs in verse 7, and again in verse 15, *' I am Jehovah — the Creator of Israel, your king." See also ch. xliv. 1. Comp. Ps. c. 3. IT Fear not. This is to be understood as addressed to them when suffering the evils of the captivity of Babylon. Though they were captives, and had Buffered long, yet they had nothing to fear in regard to their final extinction as a people. They should be redeemed worn captivity, and restored again to the land of their fathers. The argument here is, that th'jy were the chosen peo- rael, Fear not; for I have redeemed thee, I have called ihee by thy name; thou art mine.
pie of God; that he had organized them as his people for great and important purposes, and that those purposes must be accomplished. It would follow from that, that they must be redeemed from their captivity, and be restored again to their land. IT For I nave redeemed thee. The word *ti» gaol means properly to redeem, to ransom by means of a price, or a valuable consideration, as of captives taken in war; or to redeem a farm that was sold, by paying back the price. It is sometimes used, however, to denote deliverance from danger or bondage without specifying any price that waa paid as a ransom. Thus the deliver ance of the Jews from Egyptian bond age is sometimes spoken of as a redemp tion. Ex. vi. 6, xv. 13, Comp. Gen. xviii. 16. Isa. xxix. 22, xliv. 23. Jer. xxxi. 11. See Note ch. i. 27. It is not improbable, however, that wherever redemption is spoken of in the Scrip - tures, even in the most general manner, and as denoting deliverance from danger, oppression, or captivity, there is still retained the idea of a ransom in some form; a price paid; a valuable consideration; or something" that was given in the place of that which icat redeemed, and which answered the purpose of a valuable consideration, or a public reason of the deliverance. Thua
2 When' thou passest through the waters,6 I will he with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou
in regard to the deliverance from Egypt. Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba are mentioned as the ransom (see Note on ver. 3); and so in the deliverance from the captivity, Babylon was given in the place of the ransomed captives, or was destroyed in order that they might be redeemed. So in all notions of redemption; as, e. g God destroyed the life of the great Redeemer, or caused him to be put to death, in order that his chosen people might be saved. IT 1 have called thee ly thy name. To call by name denotes intimacy of friendship. Here it means that God had particularly designated them to be his people. His call had not been general, addressed to the nations at large, but had been addressed to them in particular. Comp. Ex. xxxi. 2, where God says that he had designated " by name" Bezaleel to the work of constructing the tabernacle. IT Thou art mine. They were his, because he had formed them as a people, and had originated their institutions; because he had redeemed them, and because he had particularly designated them as his. The same thing may be said of his church now; \%& in a still more important iense, that church is his. He has organized it; he has appointed its peculiar institutions; he has redeemed it with precious blood; and he has called his people by name, and designated them as his own.
2. When thou passest through the waters. This is a general promise, and means that whenever and wherever they should pass through water or fire he would protect them. It had been true in their past history as a people; and the assurance is here given in order that they might be comforted in view of the calamities which they were then suffering in Babylon. Fire and water are often used in the Scriptures to denote calamity — the latter because it overwhelms; the former because it consumes.
walkest through the 'fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. 3 For I am the Lord thy God,
See Ps. Ixix. 1: " The waters are come into my coul." Ps. lxxiii. 10, exxiv. 4, 5. Ps. lxvi. 12: " We went through fire and through water." ^ I will be with thee. Comp. Note ch. xli. 10. IT And through the rivers. Also expressive of calamity and danger — like attempting to ford deep ana rapid streams. IT They shall not overflow thee. As was the case with the Jordan when they crossed it under the guidance of Joshua, and a pathway was made for the armies of Israel. IT When thov walkest through the fire. This is expressive of calamity and danger in gen eral like passing through fire. Yet)< had a literal fulfilment in the case of the three pious Jews who were cast by Nebuchadnezzar into the burning furnace. Dan. iii. 25, 27. IT Neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. It shall not only not consume thee, but it shall not even burn, or injure thee. See Dan. iii. 27. The Chaldee Paraphrase refers this verse to the passage through the Red Sea, and to the protection which God gave his people there. It is rendered, " In the beginning when you passed through the Red Sea, my word was your aid. Pharaoh and Egypt, who were mighty like the waters of a river, were not able to prevail against you. And when thou didst go among a people who were formidable like fire, they could not prevail against you, and the kingdoms which were strong like flame could not consume you." It is, however, to be understood rather as a promise pertaining to the future; though the language is mainly derived, undoubtedly, from God's protecting them in their perils in former times.
3. Fur /am the Lord thy God. Thij verse continues the statement of the reasons why he would protect them. Ho was Jehovah, their Gcd. He was not only the true God, but he was the God who had entered into solemn covenant the Holy One of Israel, thy Ss* ran om, Ethiopia and Soba fm viour: I gave'1 Egypt for thy lh with ///rm.and wjio would therefore tect and defend them. 7 The ZZbfJf Om of Israel. It wu one ofhii char*
I that a god would pTotect his own people, so be hound himself to deliver them. 1 Thy Saviour, 'i another char If— had mvtd
Saviour; and h^ would maintain that character. ^ / Sarr EgfPt fur thy ransom. Thii iy ■ v«-ry important | sage in regard to the m ular, he ref-rs to tu< invaded and subdued I!."»; and that he the:, subdued Ethiopia, a:, xvii. Jo- and the scope of the passn to understand it of past events. God is firing a rranon why h.s people might expect protection, and the reason here is, that he had been lh and that his purpose to protect them was so fixed and determined, that he had brought ruin on nations more mighty and numerous than themselves to eflect their The ■ xx 10, 16. In that which was offered as the ransom was supposed to take the plar by place, and it was destroyed mured ■.■"■'. e S - the CheUee," I,—.v the Egyptians as a comtan tattoo for thee, -"■ " 72we
4 Since thou wast precious in l ly sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee:
m up to desolation and destruction instead of the Israelites. One of them must perish; and God chose that Egypt, though so much more mighty and powerful, should be reduced to desolation in order to deliver his people. They took their place, and were destroyed instead of the Hebrews, in order that they might be delivered from the bondage under which they groaned. — This may be used as a striking illustration of the atonement made for sin, when the Lord Jesus, the expiatory offering, was made to Buffer in the stead — SWay^a — of his people, and in order that sinners might live. And if God's giving up the Egyptians to destruction — themselves so guilty and deserving of death — in order to save his people, was a proof of his love for them, how much greater is the demonstration of his love when he gives his own holy Son to the bitter pains of death on a cross in order that his church may be redeemed! — There has been much variety, as has already been intimated, in the interpretation of this, and in regard to the time and events referred to. It has, by many, been supposed to refer to the invasion by Sennacherib, who, when he was about to fall upon Jerusalem, turned his arms against the Egyptians and their allies, by which means Jerusalem was saved by devoting those nations to desolation. Vitringa explains it of Shalmaneser's design upon rfie kingdom of Judah, after he had destroyed th*t of Samaria, from which he was diverted by carrying the war against the Egyptians, Cusheans, and Sabeans. But of this, Lowth says, there is no clear loof in history. Seeker supposes that refers to the fact that Cyrus overcame those nations, and that they were given him for releasing the Jews. Lowth says, " perhaps <t may mean, generally, that God had often saved his people at the expense of other nations, whom he nad as it were m their stead, given up to destruction." The exact historical facts in the case cannot be clearly made out; nor is this to be wondered at, thai many things of this nature should remain obscure for want of the light of history, which in regard to those times is extremely deficient. In regard to Egypt, however, I think the case is clear. Nothing is more manifest than that the prophet refers to that great and wonderful fact — the common-place illustration of the sacred writers — that the Egyptians were destroyed in order to effect the deliverance of the Jews, and were thus given as a ransom for them. IT Ethiopia. Heb. Cush. In regard to this country, see Note on ch. xviii. 1. It is not improbable that the prophet here refers to the facts referred to in that chapter, and the destruction which it is there said would come upon that land. IT And Scba. This was the name of a people descended from Cush, Gen. >. 7; and hence the name of the country which they occupied. According to Josephus, Ant. II. 10, 2, it seems to have been MeroS, a province of Ethiopia, distinguished for its wealth and commerce surrounded by the two arms or branches of the Nile. There still remain the ruins of a metropolis of the same name, not far from the town of Shandy. Keppel's Travels in Nubia and Arabia, 1829. Merofi is a great island or peninsula in the north of Ethiopia, and is formed by the Nile, and the Astaboras, which unites with the Nile. It was probably anciently called Seba, and was conquered by Cambyscs, the successor of Cyrus, and by him called Mcro&, after his sister. That it was near to Ethiopia is apparent from the fact that it is mentioned in connection with it. Comp. Ps. lxx. 10. Isa. xlv. 14. Herod, iii. 20. They would naturally ally themselves to the Ethiopians, and share the same fate.
4. Since thou wast precious in my sight. This verse contains another reason why God would defend and deliver them. That reason was, that he had loved them as his people; and he was willing
5 Fear not; for I am with and my daughters from the ends thee: I will bring thy seed from of the earth:
the east, and gather thee from i 7 Even every one that is called the west; j mby my name: for I have created therefore, that other people should be overcome in order that they might be saved. IT Thou hast been honourable. This does not refer so much to their personal character, as to the fact that they had been honoured by him with being the depository of the precious truths of his religion. It means that he had made them honourable by the favours bestowed on them, not that they were honourable in reference to their own personal character and worth. T Therefore will I give men for thee. As in the case of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba, ver. 3. He would cause other nations to be destroyed, if it were necessary, in order to effect their deliverance, and to restore them to their own land. We learn here, (1.) That nations and armies are in the hand of God, and at his disposal. (2.) That his people are dear to his heart, and that it is his purpose to defend them. (3.) That the revolutions among nations, the rise of one empire, and the fall of another, are often in order to promote the welfare of his church, to defend it in danger, and deliver it in time of calamity. (4.) That his people should put the utmost confidence in God as being able to defend them, and as having formed a purpose to preserve and save them. Expressions similar to those used in this verse occur frequently among the Arabians. See Rosenm filler in loco. IF For thy life. Margin, person. The Hebrew is, for thy soul; that is, on account of thee; or in thy place, See Notes on
5. Fear not. Note ch. xli. 10, 14. Comp. ch. xliii. 1. T / will bring thy seed. Thy children; thy descendants. The sense is, I will re-collect my scattered people from all parts of the world. The passage appears to have been takea from Deut. xxx. 3, whsre God oromvor.. ii. — 8 ises to gather his people together again if they should be scattered among the nations, and should then repent. Vitringa understands this of the spiritual descendants of the Jews, oi vf those who should believe on the Messiah among the Gentiles, and who should become the people of God. But the more natural interpretation is, to refer it to the Jews who were scattered abroad during the exile at Babylon, and as a promise to re-collect them again in their own land. ff From the east, &c. From all parts of the earth; from all lands where they were scattered. That they were driven to other places than Babylon on the invasion of their land by the Chaldeans, is abundantly manifest in the historical records. Ezek. v. 12, xvii. 21. Jer. ix. 16. Zech. ii. 6. Amos ix. 9.
6. / will say to the north, Give up. Give up my people, or restore them to their own land. IT Bring my sons, &c. Bring all my people from the distant lands where they have been driven in their dispersion. This is a beautiful passage. As if all lands were under the control of God, and he could at once command and they would obey, he calls on them to yield up his people to their own country. He issues a commandment which is heard in all quarters of the globe, and the scattered people of God come flocking again to their own
7. Every one that is called by my name. To be called by the name of any one is synonymous with being regarded as his son, since a son bear! the name of his father. See ch. xliv. b, xlviii. 1. The expression, therefore, means here, all who were regarded as the children of God; and the promise is, that all such should be re-gatliered to their own land. V For I have ciealr
8 Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the leaf that have ears.
9 Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and show us forme • things? let them brinoforth their witnesses, that they
cd him. Note on ver. 1. IF For my glory. In order to show forth, and illustrate my glory. They shall be, therefore, defended and protected; and my glory shall be shown in their recovery and salvation.
8. Bring forth the blind people. Many have understood this of the Jews. So Vitringa, Rosenmuller, Grotius, and others understand it. But Lowth, more correctly regards it as referring to the Gentiles. It is designed as an argument to show the superiority of God over all idols, and to demonstrate that he was able to deliver his people from captivity and exile. He appeals, therefore (ver. 9), to his own people in proof of his divinity and power. None of the heathen (ver. 8) had been able to predict future events, none of the heathen gods, therefore, could save; but Jehovah, who had so often foretold events that were fulfilled, toas able to deliver, and of that fact his own people had had abundant evidence. IF That have eyes. They had natural faculties to see and know God (comp. Rom. i. 20), but they had not improved them, and they had, vherefore, run into the sin and folly of idolatry. The phrase " bring forth," implies a solemn appeal made by God to them to enter into an argument on the subject. Comp. Note ch. xli. 1.
i). Let all the nations he gathered Let them be assembled to give evidence, or to adduce proofs that their idols are worthy of confidence, ch. xli. 1. IT It ho among them can declare this? Who among them hath predicted this state of things? Who has foretold the events which are now occur-
may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.
10 Ye uare my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant' whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me *there was 5no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
ring? It is implied here, that Jfuovad had done this, but none of the he. then gods had done it. Note ch..xli 521. IT And show us former things. Note ch. xli. 22. The order of events, the manner in which one event shall succeed another Not merely, who can declare one single event, but who can declare the succession, the order in which many events shall follow oach other — a far more difficult thing than to declare one single future event. Neither had been done by the heathen; both had been done by God. tT Thai they may be justified. That it may be demonstrated that they are what they pretend to be, and that they are worthy of the confidence ef men. The word "justified" here, is used in the sense of being right, or true; — let them in this manner show that their claims are just, and well founded. IF Or let them hear and say, It is truth. See Note on ch. xli. 26.
10. Ye are my witnesses. They were his witnesses, because (1) he had given to them predictions of future events which had been literally fulfilled; (2) by his power of delivering them so often manifested, he had shown that he was a God able to save. Neither of these had been done by the idol godo. Comp. ch. xliv. 8. 11 And believe me. Or rather ' confide in me.' ^ Before me there was no God formed. I am the only true, the eternal God. In thia expression, Jehovah says that he was the first being. He derived his existence from no one Perhaps the Hebrew will bear a little more emphasis than ii conveyed by our translation. ' Pefor**
11 I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no "Saviour.
12 I have declared and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my wit-
me, God was not formed,' implying that he was God, and that he existed anterior to all other beings. It was an opinion among the Greeks, that the same gods had not always reigned, but that the more ancient divinities had been expelled by the more modern. It is possible that some such opinion may have prevailed in the oriental idolatry, and that God here means to say, in opposition to that, that he had not succeeded any other God in his kingdom. His dominion was original, underived, and indepondent. IT Neither shall there be after me. He would never cease to live; he would never vacate his throne for another. This expression is equivalent to that which occurs in the book of Revelation, " I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last" (Rev. i. 11); and it is remarkable that this language, which obviously implies eternity, and which in Isaiah is used expressly to prove the divinity of Jehovah, is, in the passage referred to in the Book of Revelation, applied no less unequivocally to the Lord Jesus Christ.
repetition of the pronoun " I " makes it emphatic. The design is, to affirm that there was no other being to whom the name "Jehovah" appertained. There was no other one who had the attributes which the name involved; there was, therefore, no other God. On the meaning of the word Jehovah, see Note on ch. i. 2. ir And beside me there is no Saviour. There is no one who can deliver from oppression, and captivity, and exile, such as the Jews suffered in Babylon,• there is no one but he who san save from sin, and from hell. All 3a]#ation, therefore; must ccme from
13 Yea, before the day was, 1 am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who 'shall 7let it?
God; and if we obtain deliverance from temporal ills, or from -ternal death, we must seek it from him.
12. / have declared. I have announced or predicted future events; I have warned of danger; I have marked out the path of safety. He had thu3 shown that he was the true God. See Note ch. xli. 22, 23. T And have saved. I have delivered the nation in former times of danger, and have thus shown that I would protect them. IT And have showed. Hcb. " caused to hear." I have made known future events, and have thus showed that I was God. IT When there was no strangt god among you. Before the time wher there was any idol in the nation, and when, therefore, it could not be pretended that deliverance was to be traced to any one but to Jehovah. The word "god" here is not in the original, but is properly supplied. The word if is evidently used instead of *n ^ as in
Ps. xliv. 20, lxxxi. 9. It denotes a god that is worshipped by foreigners. The sense is, that their former deliverance could in no sense be traced to any such foreign god. IT Therefore, ye are my loitnesses. You who have so often been defended; you who have the predictions respecting future events, can be appealed to as evidence that I am the only true God, able to deliver. The doctrine taught in this passage is, that God may appeal to his dealings with his people as a demonstration that he is the true God, and that he is faithful and able to deliver — an appeal which may be made to his church at large in view of its trials, persecutions, and deliverances; and to every one who is his true friend and worshipper.
14 Thus saith the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon and have brought
fere the first day, or before the beginning of time; from eternity. The LXX tender it correctly dx' df>x»7?, and the Vulgate ah initio, from the beginning. IT / am ke. I am the same, ver. 10. IT / will work. I will accomplish my designs. IT And who shall let it? Marg. as in the Hcb. ' turn it back.' The meaning is, ' Who can hinder it V And the doctrine taught here is, (1.) That God is from everlasting — for if he was before time, he must have been eternal. (2.) That he is unchangeably the same — a doctrine which is, as it is lie re designed to be used, the only sure foundation for the security of his people — for who can trust a being who is fickle, changing, vacillating 1 (3.) That he can deliver his people always, no matter what are their circumstances. (4.) That he will accomplish all his plans; no matter whether to save his people, or to destroy hia foes. (5.) That no one — man or devil — can hinder him. How can the feeble arm of a creature resist God? (6.) That opposition to him is as fruitless as it is wicked. If men wish for happiness they must fall in with his plan3, and aid in the furtherance of his designs.
14. Thus saith the Lord, your Redeemer. This verse commences another argument for the safety of his people. It is the assurance to the Jews in Babylon that he had sent to them a deliverer, and would bring down the pride of the Chaldeans, and demolish their city. IT Your Redeemer. Note ver. 1. H / have sent to Babylon. That is, the Persians and Medes, under the command of Cyrus. Comp. Note ch. xiii. 3. This implies that God had command over all their armies and had the power of sending them where he pleased. Comp. Notes ch. x. 5, G. This is to be underttood as seen by the prophet in vision. He sees the armies of Cyrus encompass Babylon and the haughty city fall, and ltaer> saya that God had sent or directed
down all their "nobles, and tha Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.
them there. 1T And have brought down all their nobles. Marg. " bars." But the word in this place probably meana neither, but rather fugitives. Comp. Notes on ch. xxvii. 1. The word ust,d, fPia bdridhh, n.eans sometimes bar, cross-bar, that which passed from one side of the tabernacle to the other through rings, in order to carry it; then a bar, or bolt of any kind. Judg. xvi. 3. Neh. iii. 3. But the word may also denote one who flies; a fugitive; and is properly used in that sense here. The verb
HP 2 from which the word is derived, means often to break away, to fee. Gen. xvi. 8, xxxv. 1, 7. Jonah i. 3. Job xxvii. 22. 1 Sam. xix. 12. Here it means those who endeavoured to escape from the impending calamity and destruction: or it may refer to those who had taken refuge in Babylon from othei lands, as Babylon was doubtless composed in part of those who had sought a refuge there from other nations — a conflux of strangers. But the former ia the more probable interpretation; and the idea seems to be, that Jehovah had brought them down to their ships, or had led them to take refuge in their ships from the impending judgments. Jerome, however, understands it of removing the strong bars with which the prisoners of the exile Jews were protected, so that they would be permitted to go forth in peace and safety. Lowth renders it, " I will bring down all her strong bars." The LXX render it, " all that fly," cptvyovTcs vavraq. So the Syriac. IT And the Chaldeans. The inhabitants of Babylon. TT Whose cry is in the ships. Lowth renders this, " exulting in their ships." Noycs, " ships of their delight." The Vulgate, " glo rying iu their ships." The LXX, " The Chaldeans shall be bound (SeOfaovrai) in ships." The Syriac, " Who glory in their ships? " The sense is, probably, that the Chaldeans, when their ci y waj
15 I a?n the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.
16 Thus saith the Lori, which kmaketh a way in the sea, and d yath in the mighty waters:
taken, would seek to take refuge in their (ships in which they would raise a shout. Roscnmiillcr. Or it may be, as Lowth supposes, that it was one of the characteristics of the Chaldeans that they Doastec of their ships, and of their commerce. Babylon was, as he remarks, favourably situated to be a commercial and naval power. It was on the large river Euphrates, and hence had access to the Persian Gulf and the ocean; and there can be no doubt that it was engaged, in the height of its power, in commercial enterprises. On the north of the city, the Euphrates was united to the Tigris by the canal called Nahar Malca, or the Royal River, and thus a large part of the produce of the northern countries, as far as the Euxine and Caspian seas, naturally descended to Babylon. Herod, i. 194. Semiramis, the founder of Babylon, is said to have had a fleet of three thousand galleys. After the taking of the city by Cyrus, we hear indeed little of the commerce of Babylon. The Euphrates was diverted from its course, and spread over the adjacent country; and the Persian monarchs, in order to prevent the danger of invasion from that quarter, purposely obstructed the navigation, by making dams across both the Tigris and the Euphrates. Strabo L. xvi. It is not to be deemed remarkable, therefore, that in the times cf its prosperity, ihe city of Babylon should be noted for its commerce; or as a city exulting in its shipping, or raising the sailor's cry — i cry such as is heard in any port now where shipping abounds.
The word rendered cry f"f3"} denotes properly a shout of rejoicing, or joy; Ps. xxxi. G, xlii. 5, 1 Kings xxii. 36; and then also a mournful cry, an outcry, wailing; Ps. xvii. 1, Ixi. 2. Here it may mean, the joyful cry of commerce; the shout of the mariner as he leaves the
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 art* quenched as tow.
port, or as he returns to hi3 heme — -the shout, the clamour, which is heard at the wharves of a commercial city. Such a cry is alluded to by Virgil in the naval games which ^Eneas celebrated:
The sense here is, that God had sent to bring down that exulting city, and tc destroy all the indications c itsxiommercial importance and prosperity.
15. I am the Lord. I am Jehovah— proved to be such, as the connexion demands that we should interpret this, by sending to Babylon and bringing down your oppressors. This interposition in destroying Babylon would be a demonstration that he was Jehovah, the only true God, and their God. IT The Creator of Israel. Note ver. 1. IT Your King. Ruling over you, and showing the right to do it by delivering you from your foes.
16. Thus saith the Lord. This verse contains a reference to the deliverance from Egyptian servitude — the great storehouse of argument and illustration with the sacred writers; the standing demonstration of God's merciful interposition in behalf of their nation, and proof that he was their God. IT Which maketh. Whose characteristic it is to open a path of safety for his people even when deep and rapid floods are before them. The standing proof of this, which undoubtedly the prophet had in his eye, was the deliverance from Egypt. Still, I think, he did not mean to refer to that alone, but to that as an illustration of what God was, and had ever been to hia people. IT A waij in the sea. Referring to the path made through the waters of the Red Sea when the children of Israel were permitted to go on dry ground.
18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
19 Behold, I will do a new tiling: now it shall spring forth;
and horse. The reference here is, undoubtedly, to the occurrences which are recorded in Ex. xiv. 4, seq., when Pharaoh and his host are said to have followed the Israelites, but were all submerged in the sea. God is said to have brought them forth in accordance with the general statement so often made, that he controls and directs princes and nations. See Notes ch. x. 5, 6. IT They shall lie down together. They shall sink together to death, as Pharaoh and his army sunk together in a watery grave.
Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: They sank as lead in the mighty waters.
The depths have covered them; They sank into the bottom as a stone.
■ft They are extinct. They are destroyed, as the wick of a lamp is quenched Buddenly when immersed in water. This is a striking figure to denote the suddenness with which it was done, and the completeness of their destruction. As a flame is entirely put out when plunged beneath the water, so the whole host of the Egyptians were suddenly and completely destroyed in the Red Sea. The sentiment in this verse is, that God has power over the nations to control them; that it is one of his characteristics to lead on the enemies of his people to destruction; and that they are suddenly destroyed, and their hopes and joys and triumphs put out for ever. If it was so in regard to the Egyptians, it will be also in regard to all his foes. And if this took place in regard to a nation, it shall also in regard to individual sinners who oppose themselves to
How oft is the candle of the wicked put out? And how oft cometh thiir destruction upon them? God distributeth sorrows i." his anger. They are as stubb.e before the wind, ind as chail' that the storm carrieth away.
sha il yi, not know i[? I wil* even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
20 The beast of the; field shah honour me, the dragons and the
18. Remember ye not, dec. So greaS and wonderful shall be God's future interpositions in your behilf, that what he has done, great as that was, shall be comparatively forgotten. ^ The forme? things. The deliverance from Egypt, and the overthrow of his enemies there. IT The things of old. The things that were formerly done.
19. / will do a new thing. Something that has not hitherto occurred, some unheard of and wonderful event, that shall far surpass all that he had formerly done. See Note ch. xlii. 9. ^ Now it shall spring forth. Note ch. xlii. 9. It shall spring up as the grass does from the earth; or it shall bud forth like the opening leaves and flowers — a beautiful figure, denoting the manner in which the events of divine Providence come to pass. IT I will even make a way in the wilderness. In this part of the verse, the prophet describes the anxious care which God would show in protecting his people, and providing for them in conducting them to their native land. See the expressions fully explained in the Notes on ch. xli. 17, 18, 19.
20. The beast of the field shall honour me. The sense of this passage is plain, and the image is highly poetical and beautiful. God would poui such copious floods of waters through the waste sandy deserts to supply his people that even the wild beasts would be sensible of his abundant goodness, and would break forth into thanksgiving and praise for the unusual supply. IF The dragons. See Note ch. xiii. 22. The LXX render the word here used, E^jIFI tannim, by tfcipnvsst sirens — among the ancients a marine monster that was fabled to use sweet and alluring tones of music. It is probable, however, that the LXX understood here some species of wild fowl which responded to one another. The Syriac translator here interprets it aa
'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 "show forth my praise.
22 But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou
denoting some wild animal of the canine species — a wood-dog. 11 And the owls. Margin, as in the Hebrew, " daughters of the owl, or ostrich." See Note ch. xiii. 21.
21. This people have I formed for myself. To preserve the remembrance of my name; to transmit the knowledge of the true God to future times, and to j celebrate my praise. Notes ver. 1. IT They shall show forth my praise. They shall celebrate my goodness; or, by their restoration to their own land, they shall show manifestly that they are my people
22. But thou hast not called upon me. The design of this and the following verses, is to show them that they were indebted to the divine mercy alone for their deliverance from bondage. It was not because they had been either meritorious or faithful: it was not because they had deserved these favours at his hand; for they had been a people that had been distinguished for neglecting their God. On that account, these calamities had come upon them, and their deliverance, therefore, was to be an act of mere unmerited favour. IT Thou hast been weary. As a people, you have oeen weary of my service. They had accounted his laws grievous and oppressive; and they had groaned under what they regarded as burdensome rites and ceremonies. See Amos viii. 5, G. Mai. i. 13. God here refers, doubtless, to the times before the captivity, and is Btating what was the general characteristic of the people.
23 Thou hast not brought me the "small cattle of thy burntofferings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices: I have not caused thee to "serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense.
the sacrifices which were commanded. They had not maintained and observed his worship as he had required. If The s?nall cattle. Margin, lambs, or kids. The Hebrew word •"I'ij denotes properly one of a flock — a sheep or a goat. It should have been so rendered here. These animals were used for burntofferings, and the Jews were required to offer them daily to God. IT Of thy burnt-offerings. Comp. Ex. xxix. 38. Num. xxviii. 3. The burnt-offering was wholly consumed on the altar. If With thy sacrifices. Bloody offerings. There is little difference between this word and that rendered " burntofferings." If there is any, it is that the word rendered "sacrifice," l"1?.?, is of wider signification, and expresses sacrifice in general; the word rendered "burnt-offering," fi23>, denotes that which is consumed, or which ascends as an offering. The holocaust refers to its being burned; the sacrifice to the offering however made. 1T I have not caused thee to serve icith an offering. * I have not made a slave of thee; I have not exacted such a service as would be oppressive and intolerable — such as is imposed on a slave.' The word here used, ^3?. is often used in such a sense, and with such a reference. Lev. xxv. 39: " Thou shalt not compel him to serve the service of a bondman." Ex. i. 14. Jer. xxii. 13, xxv. 14, xxx. 8. The sense is, that the lawrs of God on the subject, were not grievous and oppressive. If With an offering. The word
24 Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou 2nlled me with the fat
perly a bloodless oblation, and is thus distinguished from those mentioned before. It consisted of fiom mingled with salt, oil, and incense; or of the fruits of the earth, &,c. See Notes ch. i. 11. Comp. Lev. ii. 2. Num. xxviii. 5. IF Nor wearied thee. By exacting incense. I have not so exacted it as to make it burdensome, and wearisome to you. IT With incense. See Note ch. i. 13. The word i"^ •, Gr. \i(3avus, denotes properly frankincense, a substance so called from its white colour, from "i?? to be white. It is found in Arabia (Isa. lx. G. Jer. vi. 20), and in Palestine (Cant. iv. 6, 14); and was obtained by making incisions in the bark of trees. It was much used in worship among fro Jews as well as by other nations. It was burned in order to produce an agreeable fragrance. Ex. xxx. 8, xxxvii. 29. Lev. xvi. 13.
24. Thou hast bought me. You have not purchased this — implying that it was not produced in Palestine, but was an article of commerce. It was to be obtained only from abroad. This is expressly affirmed in Jer. vi. 20: " To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country?" That it was an article of commerce i3 also apparent from Ezek. xxvii. 19: " Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs (i. e. Tyre): bright iron, cassia, and calamus (""^i?), were in thy market." IT Sweet cane. The word here used (•"1?|3), denotes properly cane, reed, calamus (Gr. K&wa and Kavvn, Latin canna, whence the English cane, Fr. canne, It. canna). It usually refers to a reed growing in wet or marshy ground. It denotes also sweet cane, calamus aromaticus. It is sometimes joined with the word fcilJa bosemt aromatic, odour, fragrance, spice, as in Ex. xxx. 23. See also Jer. vi. 20. According to
of thy sacrifices but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied fcme with thine iniquities.
Pliny (12,22) it grew v\ Arabia, Syria, and India; according to Theophrastua in the vales of Lebanon. His. Plant. 9,7. It was used among the Hebrews in compounding the sacred perfumes. Ex. xxx. 23. It is a knotty root, of a reddish colour, and contains a soft white pith — in resemblance probably not unlike the calamus so well known in this country. Strabo and Diodorus Siculus say that it grew in Saba. Hasselquist says that it is common in the deserts of the two Arabias. It Ls gathered near Jambo, a port town of Arabia Petrsea. from whence it is brought into Egypt. The Venetians purchase it, and use it in the composition of their theriaca. It i3 much esteemed among the Arabs on account of its fragrance. See Calmet (art. cane), and Gesenius Lex. and comm. in loco. It was not probably used in the worship of God any where except among the Hebrews. The heathens made use of incense, but I do no: know that they used the calamus. IF Neither hast thou filled me. Margin.. ' Made me drunk, or abundantly moistened.' The word here used (*"^* rdvd), means properly to drink to the full, to be satisfied, sated with drink. See it explained in the Notes on ch. xxxiv. 6. It is applied to water which is drank, or to fat which is sucked in or drank rather than eaten (P?. jl*x\.. 9); or to a sword as drinking up blood. Here it means to satiate, or to satisfy. They had not offered the fat of sacrifices so as to satiate God. Probably this passage does not mean that the Jews had wholly neglected the public worship of God, they had not worshipped him with a proper spirit, and had thus served him with their sins, and wearied him with the.T transgressions. It is true, also, that while they were abundant in external rites and ceremonies, they frequently made oblations to idols, rather than to the true God. FV«
25 I, even I, am ne that blotteth cout thy transgressions for mine own dsake, and will not remember ethy sins.
haps, therefore, an emphasis '.s to be placed on the word " me " in.lis passage, meaning, that however diligent and regular they had been in the performance of the external rites and duties of religion, yet that God had been neglected. IT Thou hast made me to serve with thy sins. You have made it oppressive, burdensome, wearisome for me, like the hard and onerous service of a slave. See Note on ver. 23. Comp. Note ch. i. 14.
25. I, even I, am he. This verse contains a gracious assurance that their sins would be blotted out, and the reason why it would be done. The pronoun " I " is repeated to make it emphatic, as in ver. 11. Perhaps also God designs to show them the evil of the sins which are mentioned in the previous verses, by the assurance that they were committed against him who alone could forgive, and who had promised them pardon. The passage also reminds them, that it was God alone who could pardon the sins of which as a nation they had been guilty. IT That hloifcth out thy transgressions. This metaphor is taken from the custom of keeping accounts, where, when a debt is paid, the charge is blotted or cancelled. Thus God says he blotted out the sins of the Jews. He cancelled them. He forgave them. Of course, when forgiven, punishment could not be exacted, and he would treat them as pardoned; i. c. as his friends. ^ For mine own sake. Not because you deserve it, or have any claim, or that it would not be right to punish you. Not even primarily to promote your happiness and salvation, but for my sake. (1.) To show the benevolence of my character. (2.) To promote my glory by your forgiveness and salvation. See Ezek. xxxvi. 22. ^ And will not remember thy sins. They shall be forgiven. Hezekiah (ch. xxxviii. 17) expresses Ue same idea by saying " thou hast cast al my sins behind thy back." We may learn from this verse, (1.) That it is God only who can pardon sin. How vain then is it for man to attempt it! How wicked for man to claim the prerogative! And yet it is an essentia] part of the papal system that the Pope and his priests have the power of remitting the penalty of transgression. (2.% That this is done by God solely for his own sake. It is not (a) because we have any claim to it — for then it would not be pardon, but justice. It is not (It) because we have any power to compel God to forgive — for who can contend with him, and how could mere power procure pardon ] It is not (c; because we have any merit — for then also it wouh be justice — and we have no merit. Nc is it (d) primarily in order that we ma) be happy — for our happiness is a inattei not worthy to be named compared with the honour of God. But it is solely for his own sake — to promote his glory — to show his perfections — to evince the greatness of his mercy and compassion — and to show his boundless and eternal love. (3.) They who are pardoned should live to his glory, and not to themselves. For that they were forgiven, and it should be the grand purpose of their lives so to live as to show forth the goodness, compassion, and love of tha. merciful Being who has blotted out their sins. (4.) Ifmen are ever pardoned, they must come to God — and to God alone. They must come not to justify themselves, but to confess their crimes. And they must come with a willingness thai God should pardon them on just sucb terms as he pleases; at just such a time as he pleases; and solely with a view to the promotion of his ov;n glory. Unless they have this feeling, they never can be forgiven, nor should they be forgiven.
27 Thy first father hath sin- I ned, and thy 3teachers have
defence which you can urge. State every thing in s^lf-vindication which can ve stated. The language here is taken from the practice of courts when a cause i=< on trial; and God urges them on their qide, to urge all in self-vindication which they can urge. On his part, he alleged that the princes and rulers of the nation had sinned (ver. 27); that the whole nation had transgressed (v. 23, 24), and that for this they were justly punished (ver. 28). He here urges them to advance all in self-defence which they could — if they could pretend that He had forgotten any thing; that they had merits which he had not considered; or that he had charged them with crime with undue severity. IT Let us plead together. Heb. " Let us be judged together." See Note ch. xli. 1. V Declare thou, that thou may est be justified. That you may show that you are just, or righteous; that you may demonstrate that you are unjustly accused of dime, and punished with undue se- ^ erity.
27. Thy first father hath sinned. This is the argument on the side of God to show that they were neither unjustly punished, nor punished with undue severity. The argument is, that their rulers and teachers had been guilty of crime, and that, therefore, it was right to bring all this vengeance upon the nation. Various interpretations have been given of the phrase " thy first father." A slight notice of them will lead to the correct exposition. (1.) Many have supposed that Adam is here referred to. Thus Piscator, Calovius, and most of the fathers understand it, and among the Jews, Kimchi. But the objections to this are plain. (a) Adam was not peculiarly the first father or ancestor of the Jews, but of the whole human race. (I) The Jews never boasted, or gloried in him as the founder of their nation, but they always referred to Abraham finder this appellation. John viii. 33, 39. Matt. iii. 9. (c) It would have been irrelevant to the design of the prophet to have referred to the sin of Adam in tL * case. God was vindicating his own cause and conduct in destroying theii capital and temple, and in sending them as captives to a distant land. How would it prove that he was right in this, to say that Adam was a transgressor t How would it demonstrate his justice in these peculiar inflictions of his anger to refer to the apostacy of the ancestor of the whole human race 1 (2.) Others refer it to Abraham. This was the sentiment of Jerome, and of some others; and by those who maintain this opinion, it is supposed to refer to his doubting the truth of the promise (Gen. xv. 8); or to the denial of his wife, and his sin in inducing her *o say that she was his sister (Gen. xii. 11, xx. 2); or to the fact that when young he was an idolater. But the obvious objection to this is, that Abraham is every where in the Scriptures proposed as an example of one eminently devoted to God; nor could it be said that these calamities had come upon them in consequence of his unfaithfulness, and his sins. (3.) Others refer it to the rulers and princes individually. Thus Grotius refers it to Manasseh; Aben Ezra to Jeroboam, &c. (4.; Others, as Vitringa, refer it to the High Priest, and particularly to Uriah, who lived in the time of Ahaz, and particularly to the fact, that in obedience to the command of Ahaz he constructed an altar in Jerusalem like the one which he had seen and admired in Damascus. 2 Kings xvi. 10-16. The objection to this interpretation is, that no reason can be given for selecting this particular act from a number of similar abominations on the part of the Priests and Rulers, aa the cause of the national calamities. It was only one instance out of many of the crimes which brought the national judgments upon them. (5.) Others, as Gesenius, suppose that the word is to be taken collectively, not as referring to any particular individual, but to tha High Priests in general. It is not uncommon to give the name " father" thvsa to a principal man among a people, and especially to one eminent in religious authority The word "first" here does not refer to time, but to rank; not the ancestor of the people, but the one having appropriately the title of father, who had the priority also in rank. The LXX render it, ol narcries ifiCHv irpdroi. It refers therefore, probably, to the cha« iacterof the presiding officers in religion, and means that the priests supreme in rank, and whose example was so important, had sinned; that there was irreligion at the very foundation of influence and authority; and that, therefore, it was necessary to bring these heavy judgments en the nation. No one acquainted with the history of the Jewish people in the times immediately preceding the captivity, can doubt that this was the character of the High Priesthood. IT And thy teachers. Marg. interpreters. The word here used Sp2£?E is derived from S5!?. This word means to stammer, to speak unintelligibly; and then to speak in a foreign and barbarous language, and then to interpret, from the idea of speaking a foreign tongue. Hence it may be used in the sense of an tnternuncius, or a messenger. 2 Chr. xxxii. 31. Comp. Notes on Job xxxiii. 23. That it refers here to the priests, there can be no doubt, and is properly applied to them because they sustained the office of interpreting his will to the people, and generally of acting as internuncii or messengers between God and them. The LXX render it, " rulers,"
28. Therefore I have profaned. The princes of the sanctuary, i. e. the priests, were by their office regarded as sacred, or set apart to the service of God. To depose them from that office, to subject them to punishment, and to send them into captivity, was, therefore, regarded &s profaning them. They were stripped of their office, and robes, and honours, and reduced to the same condition, and compelled to raeet with the same and have given Jacob.o tha curse, and Israel to reproaches.
treatment, as the common people, Th« sense is, that he had made them common (for so the word 32fi is used in Lev. xix 8, xxi. 9. Mai. ii. 2. Ex. xxxi. 14, xix. 22. Mai. i. 12); he did not regard thenoffice; he used them all alike. ^T The princes of the sanctuary. Marg. " holy princes." It means, either those who presided over and directed the services of the sanctuary, called in 1 Chron. xxiv. 5," governors of the sanctuary;" or those who were holy in office. The LXX render it, ol apyfovres ru "lyia uov, who preside over my holy things, or my sanetuary. The Vulgate "principes sanctos," holy princes. The Syriac, " thy princes have profaned the sanctuary. The sense is, that God had disregarded the official character of those who were set apart to the sacred office, and had punished them in common with the people at large for their sins. IT And have given Jacob to the curse. The LXX render it, " I have given Jacob to be destroyed," dmoXcoai. The Hebrew word here E^fJ hherem, is that which is commonly used to denote a solemn anathema, excommunication, or devotion to destruction. See Note on ch. xxxiv. 5. TT To reproaches. The reproach, contempt, and scorn which they met with in their captivity, and in a land of strangers. Comp. Ps. exxxvii. 3, 4.
Thus far God states the reasons why he had punished the nation. It had been on account of the national irreligion and sins, and the destruction had come upon all, but pre-eminently on the priests and the rulers. In the arbitrary envision which is made in the Bible into chapters, a very improper separation has been made by making the chapter close here. The sense of the whole passage is materially injured by this division, and the scope of the whole argument is forgotten. The design of the entire argument is, to show that God would not leave his people; that though he punished them, he would not utterly destroy them; and that he would appear again for theij rescue, and restore them to their own land. This argument is prosecuted in the following chapter; and in the commencement of that chapter the thought is pursued, that though God had thus punished them, yet he would appear and save them. The beginning of that chap ter is properly the continuation and completion of the argument urged here, and this chapter should have closed a* what is now the fifth verse oi chapter xliv.
It ha9 aiready been observed (Note ch. xliii. 28), that the commencement of this chapter is properly a continuation and completion of the argument commenced there; and that the division Hhould have been made at what is now the close of the hflh verse of this chapter. '1 his chaptei may be divided into the following parts.
I. The assurance that though they had sinned (ch. xliii. 23—28), God would have mercy on them, and would restore them to his favour, and to their land, vs. 1—5. They had nothing to lear (vs. I, 2): God would bless their offspring, and they should grow and flourish like willows by the waters (vs. 3—3), and there should be among them a general turning to the LORD, and devotion to his service, ver. 5.
II. An argument to show that JEHOVAH was the true God; and a severe and most sarcastic reproof of idolatry— designed to reprovo idolaters, and to lead the people to put their confidence in JEHOVAH, vs. 6 — 20. This argument consists of the following parts, (a) A solemn assertion of JEHOVAH himself that there was no other God, ver. 6. (b) An appeal to the fact that lie only had foretold future events, and that he only could do it, vs. 7, 8. (c) A sarcastic statement of the manner in which idols were made, and of course, the folly of worshipping them, vs. 9—20.
III. The assurance that JEHOVAH would deliver his people lrom all their calamities and oppressions (vs. 21—28). This part contains (I.) The assurance that he would do it. and that their sin-; were blotted out (vs. 21, 22). (2.) A calling upon the heavens and the earth to rejoice over so great ana glorious an event (ver. 23). (3) An appeal to what JEHOVAH had done, and could do, as an evidence that he could deliver his people, to wit: he had formed the heavens— he had made the earth without aid— he made diviners man— he frustrated the plans of the wise, and he had confirmed the promises which he had made by his servants (vs. 24, 25, 26); he said to Jerusalem that it should be inhabited, and the cities of J udah that they should be rebuilt; he had dried up the rivers; and he had raised up Cyrus for the express purpose of delivering his people (vs. 26, 27, 28); and by all this, it should be known that he would visit, and vindicate, and restore them.
2 Thus saith the Lord that Tiade thee, and formed thee from
1. Yet now hear. This should be read in immediate connexion with the previous chapter. ' Notwithstanding you have sinned, yet now hear the gracious promise which is made in regard to your deliverance.'
2. Thus saith the Lord that made thee. See Note ch. xliii. 1. IT And formed thee from the womb. This is equivalent to the declaration that he was their Maker, or Creator, t means, that from tie ">ery beginning of their history as a people, he had formed and mo'ilded all their institutions, and direct- ed all things in regard to them — as much as he is the former of the body from the commencement of its existence. It may be observed that the words, " from the womb," are joined by some interpreters! with the phrase, " that formed th^e," meaning that he had been the originator of all their customs, privileges, and laws, from the beginning of their history; and by others with the phrase, " will help thee," meaning that from the commenctment of their existence as a nation he had been their helper. Accord* ing to the Masoretic marks ofdisting*
3 For "I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods up-
tion, the former is the time sense. So the LXX, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, Lowth, &c. But Jerome, Luther, and some others prefer the latter mode. TT Fear not. Note ch. xli. 10. Though you have sinned as a people (ch. xliii. 23, 24, 27); and though all these heavy judgments have come upon you (ch. xliii. 28), yet you have no reason to fear that God will finally abandon and destroy you. IT And thou Jeshurun }sHt3",J. This word occurs but four times in the Bible, as a poetical name for the people of Israel, apparently expressing affection nnd tenderness, Deut. xxxii. 15, xxxiii. 5, 26,and in this place. It is, says Gesenius (Comm. in loc), " a flattering appellation (Schmeichelwort) for Israel," and is probably a diminutive from ^TO^="rtD^ ydshur=yashor, the passive form in an intransitive veib with an active signification. The ending "p on, he adds, is terminatio charitiva — a termination indicating affection, or kindness. In his Lexicon he observes, however (as translated by Robinson), that " it seems not improbable that it was a diminutive form of the name?^T^ (Israel), which was current in common life for the fuller form "p'^^1? (Israelun.) a title of affection for Israel, but like other common words of this sort, contracted and more freely inflected, so as at the same time to imply an allusion to the signification of right or uprightness contained in the root "i^. Jerome renders it, " rectissime," most upright. The LXX render it, i)ya^r]jxivoi 'lapurjA, beloved Israel. The Syriac renders it, * Israel." So also the Chaldee. It. is Joubtltss a title of affection, and probably includes the notion of uprightness, or integrity.
3. For I will pour water. Floods, rivers, streams, and waters, are often used in the Scriptures, and especially in IsaVi, to denote plenteous divine bless-
on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon thy s(;ed, °and m* blessing upon thine offspring;
ings, particularly the abundant influences of the Holy Spirit. See Note ch. xxxv. 6, 7. That it here refers to the Holy Spirit and his influences, is proved by the parallel expressions in the subsequent part of the verse. IT Upon him that is thirsty. Or rather,'* on the thiisty land." The word K£2 refers here rather to land, and the figure is ta.ien from a burning sandy desert, where waters would be made to burst out in copious streams. See ch. xxxv. G, 7. The sense is. that God would bestow blessings upon them as signal and marvellous as if floods of waters were made to descend on the dry, parched, and desolated earth. IT And floods. The word D^JIS from 2t3 to flow, to run as liquids, means properly flowing.?, and is used for streams and rivers. Ex. xv. 8. Jer. xviii. Ps. Ixxviii. 16. Prov. v. 15. It means heie that the spiritual influences which would descend on the afflicted, desolate, comfortless, and exiled people, would be like torrents of rain poured or. the thirsty earth. This beautiful figure is common in the Scriptures.