ISAIAH CHAPTER 44 A further promise of spiritual blessings, ISAIAH
44:1. The vanity of idols, and folly of idol.makers and worshippers,
ISAIAH 44:7. An exhortation to praise God, ISAIAH 44:21, our Redeemer
and Maker, ISAIAH 44:24, for his wisdom, ISAIAH 44:25, truth, ISAIAH
44:26, power, ISAIAH 44:2... [ Continue Reading ]
FROM THE WOMB; from the time of thy birth, or coming out of the womb.
From that time that I first took thee to be my people, I have been
forming and fashioning thee, by giving thee laws, and ordinances, and
teachers, by threatenings and corrections, and many other ways. He
seems to allude to the pra... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL POUR WATER; my Spirit and blessing, which is frequently
compared to water; and so it is expounded in the latter part of the
verse. UPON HIM THAT IS THIRSTY: either,
1. Upon him that desires it. Or rather,
2. Upon him that is destitute of it; for what is here thirsty, in the
next clause it i... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY SHALL SPRING UP AS AMONG THE GRASS; they shall increase and
flourish like grass, and those herbs and plants which grow up in the
midst of it.... [ Continue Reading ]
The blessing of God upon the Jews shall be so remarkable, that the
Gentiles shall join themselves unto them, and accept the Lord for
their God, and own themselves for his people.... [ Continue Reading ]
Here God reneweth his contest with idols; which he insisteth upon so
oft and so much, because his own people were exceeding prone to
idolatry.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHO, which of all the heathen gods, AS I, SHALL CALL, AND SHALL
DECLARE? shall by his powerful call or word cause it to be, and by his
infinite foreknowledge declare that it shall be. Or, _shall publish
and declare_; two words expressing the same thing, as is usual. IT;
that which shall come to pass... [ Continue Reading ]
HAVE NOT I TOLD THEE? _thee_, O Israel, whom he bids not to fear. The
sense is, I call you Israelites to bear me witness, whether I have
not, from time to time, acquainted you with things to come, such as
your sojourning in a strange land for _four hundred_ years, and your
deliverance and happiness... [ Continue Reading ]
ARE ALL OF THEM VANITY; hereby discover themselves to be vain, empty,
or foolish men. Or thus, _They that make graven images, all of them_
make (which word may fitly be repeated out of the foregoing clause, as
is very usual in Scripture) A VANITY, or _a thing of nought_. Which
translation seems bett... [ Continue Reading ]
What man in his wits can esteem that a god which his own hands have
formed, or melt a graven image (understand out of the former clause,
_to be his god_) which is profitable for nothing? He speaks of melting
a graven image, because the image was first molten and cast in a
mould, and then polished an... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL HIS FELLOWS; either,
1. The workmen, as it follows, who in this work are companions or
partners with him, by whose cost and command the work is done. Or,
2. Those who any way assist and encourage him in this work, and join
with him in worshipping the image which he maketh. THEY ARE OF MEN;
the... [ Continue Reading ]
BOTH WORKETH IN THE COALS, AND FASHIONETH IT WITH HAMMERS; first he
makes the metal soft and pliable, by putting it among burning coals,
and then he taketh it out, and beateth it into what form he pleaseth.
It must be here noted, that some of these images were made of brass
and iron, as others were... [ Continue Reading ]
He here speaks, either,
1. Of the same image, which is supposed to be made of wood, and then
covered with some metal; or,
2. Of another sort of images made of wood, as the former might be made
of iron. It is not material which way you understand it. HE MARKETH IT
WITH A LINE; he measureth and mark... [ Continue Reading ]
THE CYPRESS AND THE OAK, which afford the best and most durable
timber. WHICH HE STRENGTHENETH FOR HIMSELF AMONG THE TRESS OF THE
FOREST: the sense of the words thus rendered is, that he planteth, and
with care and diligence improveth, those trees among and above all the
trees of the forest, that he... [ Continue Reading ]
Having related the practices of idolaters, he now discovers the vanity
and folly of them; that he maketh his fire and his god of the same
materials, distinguished only by the art of man.... [ Continue Reading ]
HE EATETH FLESH; he dresseth flesh for his eating. I HAVE SEEN THE
FIRE; I have felt the warmth of it. _Seeing_ is oft put for other
senses, as _feeling, hearing_, &c., as hath been oft observed before.... [ Continue Reading ]
No text from Poole on this verse.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN OR UNDERSTOOD: this showeth that they want common
discretion, and have not the understanding of a man in them. _He_, to
wit, God; who is easily understood, and is oft expressed by this
pronoun _he_; and to whom this very act is frequently ascribed in
other places of Scripture. An... [ Continue Reading ]
NONE CONSIDERETH IN HIS HEART; whereby he implies that the true cause
of this, as well as of other absurd and brutish practices of sinners,
is the neglect of serious and impartial consideration of things.... [ Continue Reading ]
HE FEEDETH ON ASHES, which is an unsavoury, unprofitable, and
pernicious food, and no less unsatisfying, uncomfortable, and
mischievous is the worship of idols. A DECEIVED HEART; a mind
corrupted and deceived by long custom, deep prejudice, gross error,
and especially by his own lusts. HATH TURNED H... [ Continue Reading ]
REMEMBER THESE; either these men; or, which comes to one, these
things, the deep ignorance and stupidity of idolaters; which may be a
warning to thee. THOU SHALT NOT BE FORGOTTEN OF ME; I will not forget
nor forsake thee; and therefore thou shalt have no need of _idols_.
Or, as the ancient interpret... [ Continue Reading ]
I HAVE BLOTTED OUT, AS A THICK CLOUD; as the sun commonly dissolveth,
or the wind scattereth, the thickest and blackest cloud, so as there
is no remnant nor appearance of it left. _Return from thine idolatry_,
and other wicked practices. I HAVE REDEEMED THEE; therefore thou art
mine, and obliged to... [ Continue Reading ]
By such invitations to the senseless creatures to praise God with and
for his people, he signifies the transcendent greatness of this mercy
and deliverance, sufficient to make even the stones, if it were
possible, to break forth into God's praises; and withal, that as the
brute creatures were suffer... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT FORMED THEE FROM THE WOMB; of which phrase SEE POOLE ON "ISAIAH
44:2". THAT MAKETH ALL THINGS, & c.; and therefore I can save thee
without the help of any other gods or men.... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT FRUSTRATETH THE TOKENS OF THE LIARS; of the magicians, and
astrologers, and sorcerers, who were numerous, and greatly employed
and esteemed in Babylon, ISAIAH 47:12,13 DA 2:2,48, and who had
foretold the long continuance and prosperity of the Chaldean empire.
But, saith God, I will confute thei... [ Continue Reading ]
OF HIS SERVANT; of his servants, the prophets, as appears from the
next clause, which answers to this, where he useth the plural number,
HIS MESSENGERS; Isaiah and other prophets, whom God sent upon this
errand, to foretell the destruction of Babylon, and the redemption of
his people.... [ Continue Reading ]
That with a word can and will dry up the sea (which in Scripture is
very frequently called THE DEEP, as PSALMS 107:24 ISAIAH 63:13 JONAH
2:3, &c.) and rivers, and remove all impediments, and make the way
plain, that my people may return. Some think these words relate to
that stratagem of Cyrus, wher... [ Continue Reading ]
CYRUS, whom God here designeth by his proper name two hundred years
before he was born, that this might be an undeniable evidence of the
certainty and exactness of God's foreknowledge, and a convincing
argument, and so most fit to conclude this dispute between God and
idols. HE IS MY SHEPHERD; him w... [ Continue Reading ]