_Behold My Servant_ WHO IS THE “SERVANT OF JEHOVAH”? The following are, in brief, the leading opinions which have been held: (1) Hitzig’s, that the Jewish people in exile is referred to, as distinguished from the heathen; (2) that of Paulus and Maurer, that the servant is the pious portion of th... [ Continue Reading ]
_He shall not cry_ JESUS CHRIST NOT A CONTROVERSIALIST He is not a debater; He does not belong to the society of men who walk up and down in the open square, called the “street,” or _agora, _or the market-place, saying, Who will talk with Me to-day? What shall we debate? My sword is ready, who wi... [ Continue Reading ]
_A bruised reed shall He not break_ THE BRUISED REED The reed, or “calamus,” is a plant with hollow stem, which grew principally by the side of lakes or rivers. Those who have been in Palestine are familiar with it in the tangled thickets which still line the shores of the ancient Merom and Genesi... [ Continue Reading ]
_He shall not fail nor be discouraged_ THE HOPEFULNESS OF JESUS CHRIST Our God is the God of hope; and the Bible is the book of hope. If we are to be true servants of God and disciples of Jesus Christ we must be partakers of this glowing hopefulness. To be discouraged is to fail. To hope is to be... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thus saith God the Lord, He that created the heavens_ THE ONENESS OF GOD IN REVELATION AND IN NATURE The first of the two verses is a description of God; the second is a declaration of His purposes. What is the declaration which is introduced so impressively? It is often an idiom of prophetic spe... [ Continue Reading ]
_I the Lord have called thee in righteousness_ GOD’S COVENANT WITH MAN We are apt to understand that there are two covenants, respectively called the covenant of works and the covenant of grace. 1. Let us define what a covenant is. In its primary sense it signifies a mutual compact or agreement b... [ Continue Reading ]
_To open the blind eyes_ OPENING BLIND EYES What a grievous affliction is blindness! It was no frivolous boon which Christ, in the days of His sojourn on earth, thought proper to confer, when, in the external sense, He opened blind eyes. In the paragraph of which the text is a part, Jehovah is de... [ Continue Reading ]
_I am the Lord:__ THAT IS MY NAME_ Names The name of a thing, provided it is a true and adequate one, denotes the essential nature of that thing. When a chemist has discovered a new substance, he is, of course, compelled to invent a new name for it; and he seeks a term that will indicate its disti... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, the former things are come to pass_ THE PHILOSOPHY OF PROMISE One may observe, in reading Scripture, the general principle that God usually gives a promise of that which He means to bestow. Before Christ came, the Father was continually speaking of His coming. Love meets man as a heraldi... [ Continue Reading ]
_Sing unto the Lord a new song_ “NEW THINGS” AND A “NEW SONG” The “new things” become the impulse and matter of “a new song,” such as was never yet heard in the heathen world. (_F. Delitzsch, D. D._) JOY AMONG THE HEATHEN Reduced to ordinary prose style, it is a prediction that changes are to t... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let the inhabitants of the Rock sing_ CHRIST THE CHRISTIAN’S ROCK I. SHOW IN WHAT RESPECT CHRIST MAY BE COMPARED TO A ROCK. 1. Christ is a Rock, in regard of His omnipotent power. 2. Christ is a Rock, in regard of that ineffable glory to which He is now exalted. Rocks may lie low and deep in th... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man_ JEHOVAH, THE WARRIOR. Saviour The Lord stirs Himself up to bring in the “new things.” (_Prof. A. B. Davidson, D. D._)... [ Continue Reading ]
_I have long time holden My peace_ THE DIVINE THOUGHT AND PAIN Remember it is God who speaks these words of Himself, and then think of what they mean of unshareable thought and pain, of solitary yearning and effort. But from the pain comes forth at last the power (Isaiah 42:15). (_Prof. G. A. Smi... [ Continue Reading ]
_And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not_ GOD LEADING THE BLIND The blind are they whom transgression and wickedness have robbed of power of spiritual insight. The unknown ways in which Jehovah leads them are the ways of redemption, known to Him alone and now revealed in the fulnes... [ Continue Reading ]
_Hear, ye deaf_ DIVINE EXPOSTULATION Thus the Lord expostulates with His ancient people, and thus He has reason to expostulate with us. 1. We are deaf, in a spiritual sense, when we do not attend to the Divine admonitions, or give earnest heed to the word of instruction; and we are blind, in the... [ Continue Reading ]
_Who is blind, but My Servant?_ THE LORD’S SERVANT BLIND AND DEAF I. CHRIST’S BLINDNESS. How should it be said of the Servant and Messenger of the Lord that He was blind as none other? How should it be said of Him whose eyes are as a flame of fire, whose look struck like a sword? Are not all thing... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake_ THE BROKEN LAW MAGNIFIED I. THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS PARTY HERE SPOKEN OF. “The Lord,” or, as in the original, “Jehovah,” the righteous Judge, the offended Lord and Lawgiver, to whose wrath all mankind are liable, through the breach of the first... [ Continue Reading ]
_Who among you will give ear to this?_ NATIONAL CALAMITIES I. THE TRUE CAUSE OF NATIONAL CALAMITIES IS HERE POINTED OUT--SIN. The public distresses of the men of Judah and Israel did not proceed from fate or fortune, but from the Supreme Lord of the universe, who, as the just punishment of their at... [ Continue Reading ]
_It hath set him on fire round about_ PLAYING WITH FIRE Because of their unfaithfulness, God gave up His people to divers judgments, and yet the prophet has to deplore that Israel failed to recognise the hand of God in their tribulation; they would not understand and repent; although they were bur... [ Continue Reading ]