Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. Ver. 1. _Listen, O isles, unto me,_] _i.e., _ Ye foreigners; for wicked Israel will not, and therefore have no true peace. Isa 48:22 Psa 1... [ Continue Reading ]
And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; Ver. 2. _And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword._] He hath added efficacy to my doctrine, and will protect my person till I have finished the wor... [ Continue Reading ]
And said unto me, Thou [art] my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. Ver. 3. _Thou art my servant, O Israel,_] _i.e., _ O Christ, who best deservest to be called by that name, who art also the head of the elect, that Israel of God. Gal 6:16... [ Continue Reading ]
Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: [yet] surely my judgment [is] with the LORD, and my work with my God. Ver. 4. Then said I: I have laboured in vain.] I have done little more than preached my hearers to hell. The Pharisees and the lawyers "rejec... [ Continue Reading ]
_And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb [to be] his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength._ Ver. 5. _To bring Jacob again to him._] To convert and reduce him to the fold: th... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth._ Ver. 6. _I will also give thee for a light to... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, [and] his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, [and] the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; Ver. 8. _In an acceptable time._] Heb., In a time of... [ Continue Reading ]
That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that [are] in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures [shall be] in all high places. Ver. 9. _That thou mayest say to the prisoners,_] _i.e., _ To such as lie hampered and enthralled in the invisible chains... [ Continue Reading ]
They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them. Ver. 10. _They shall not hunger nor thirst._] A sufficiency the saints have, even of outward comforts, if not a superfluity;... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted. Ver. 11. _And I will make all my mountains._] I will remove all rubs, and lay all level: _pacifica erunt omnia, faecunda et suavia; _ who would not then take up Christ's so easy a yoke? &c.... [ Continue Reading ]
Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim. Ver. 12. _Behold, these shall come from far._] The Jews from all parts, whither they have been dispersed, the elect from all quarters of the earth. Mat 8:11 _See Trapp on "_ Mat 8:1... [ Continue Reading ]
Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. Ver. 13. _Sing, O heavens._] _a_ The prophet having thus foretold the saints' happiness in and by Christ, cannot hold, but breaketh for... [ Continue Reading ]
_But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me._ Ver. 14. _But Zion said._] The Church hath her vicissitudes of joy and sorrow; mercies and crosses are interwoven; God checkereth his providences white and black; he speckleth his work. _as _ Zec 1:8 _ The Lord hath forsake... [ Continue Reading ]
Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Ver. 15. _Can a woman forget her sucking child?_] It were a wonder she should grow out of kind as to be so unkind. The mother fasteth that her child ma... [ Continue Reading ]
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of [my] hands; thy walls [are] continually before me. Ver. 16. _Behold, I have graven thee._] _a_ So that as oft as I look upon mine own hands I cannot but think on thee. We read of one who had written the whole history of Christ's Passion upon the nails of... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee._ Ver. 17. _Thy children shall make haste._] People shall come in amain to the Church. _Nescit tarda molimina Spiritus Sancti gratia._ God can make a nation to conceive and bring forth in a day. Isa... [ Continue Reading ]
Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, [and] come to thee. [As] I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them [on thee], as a bride [doeth]. Ver. 18. _Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold._] A... [ Continue Reading ]
For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away. Ver. 19. _For thy waste and thy desolate places._] Heb., Thy wastenesses and thy desolations. The true Church then ma... [ Continue Reading ]
The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place [is] too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell. Ver. 20. _The children._] Heb., The children of thine orbity; such as are not yet received into the Church. _ Give place to me tha... [ Continue Reading ]
Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where [had] they [been]? Ver. 21. _Then shalt thou say in thine heart._] _Est artifici... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in [their] arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon [their] shoulders. Ver. 22. _Behold, I will lift up my hand, &c., _] _i.e., _ I will call them by t... [ Continue Reading ]
And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with [their] face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I [am] the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me. Ver. 23. _And kings shall be thy... [ Continue Reading ]
_Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?_ Ver. 24. _Shall the prey be taken from the mighty?_] Not unless he be out matched and over mastered. The heathens were wont to ask, Who can wring a club out of Hercules's hand, or a lightening bolt out of Jove's? The captiv... [ Continue Reading ]
But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children. Ver. 25. _But thus saith the Lord._] Here is a full answer to the former objection, as... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD [am] thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. Ver. 26. _And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh... [ Continue Reading ]