Isaiah 45:14

The labour of Egypt; the wealth gotten by their labour. Men of stature; a tall and strong people, who yet shall use their strength not to oppose thee, but to serve thee, and to bring their labour to thee. Shall come over unto thee; either,

1. To thee, O Cyrus: because thou wast so generous as to dismiss my people freely, I will give thee another and a better recompence, even the labour of Egypt, &c. Or,

2. To thee, O my city, or my captivity or captive people. For it is not to be neglected, that there are no less than six pronouns in this verse, all which are of the feminine gender; which seems not to agree to Cyrus. It is true which is objected by the most learned author of this part of the English Annotations, that the Scripture oft speaks of states and kingdoms in the feminine gender; but when it speaks of any particular king or emperor, it constantly speaks of him in the masculine gender, as it doth of Cyrus in this very chapter, Isaiah 45:1, and elsewhere. And thus the sense of the place seems to be this, Jerusalem shall not only be rebuilt, but the wealth and glory of other countries shall be brought to it again, as it was in former times; which although it was in part verified in Jerusalem, yet it was much more fully accomplished in the church of the gospel, which is oft expressed in Scripture under the name of Jerusalem; and in the accession of the Gentiles to that church, which began in Jerusalem, and from thence spread itself into all the parts of the world. And this sense seems best to agree with the latter part of this and with the following verse, as we shall see. In chains they shall come over; they shall be taken captive by thee, and willingly submit themselves to thee; which was accomplished in the conversion of the Gentiles, whose subjection to God's church is oft expressed in Scripture under such metaphors as this; as Psalms 45:5, Psalms 149:8, &c.; Psalms 68:18, compared with Ephesians 4:8. They shall make supplication, unto thee; to obtain thy favour and society. Surely God is in thee, or, with thee. We plainly discern that God is on thy side, or in the midst of thee; and therefore we desire to join ourselves with thee. There is none else, there is no God; we are now convinced that thou art the only true God, and that idols are vain and empty nothings; which was but very obscurely fulfilled in Cyrus's time, but was most evidently and eminently accomplished in the days of the Messiah, of whom Cyrus was a type; as also this deliverance of the Jews from Babylon by Cyrus was a type of the redemption of God's people by Christ.